


Never Ever

by AStarlightMonbebe



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternative Universe-Never Ever (Music Video), Angst, First fanfiction I've ever finished/published love it please, Multi, Probably going to trigger you at some point, Sanctuary AU, The ships are a confusing mess sorry, bts cameo, exo cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2018-12-06 03:27:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 56,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11591979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AStarlightMonbebe/pseuds/AStarlightMonbebe
Summary: "Can you speak Korean?""A little.""Me too."One year.  That's how long it's been since Mark left Korea.  Now he's back for one last summer with his childhood friend Jackson and his friends.  Except.  Except Jinyoung.Two weeks.  That's how long it's been since Yugyeom and BamBam have spoken to each other since what happened at the party.Over a year.  How long Jackson's known.One summer.  The amount of time this group of friends has.  Youngjae, BamBam, Yugyeom, Jackson, Mark, JB, Jinyoung, Jisu, Mirae, Somin.  A trip to the beach, secrets, love, hidden stories.One last time.





	1. Mayday, part 1

**Author's Note:**

> A couple of notes before I begin"
> 
> 1\. This is based off Sanctuary, a Thai commercial Mark, BamBam, and Jinyoung were in. You can watch it here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjqiI0n253g&t=22s It's really important to Mark, who is the main character, and his relationship with Jinyoung, so I highly recommend you watch it.
> 
> 2\. The girl characters in this are based off me and my friends, so if you don't get something, it might be an inside joke between us. Just a heads up.
> 
> 3\. This is betaed. This is also the first work I have ever finished and published. Feel free to comment whatever, but if you have a problem with this work please state it POLITELY. If you do not, then I shall be forced to reply to you in a the same tone you used. Fair warning.
> 
> 4\. Some of the chapters are split into a couple of parts because of length. When you see the lyrics that means that a new chapter, or section, is starting. Thank you and enjoy!

Our radiant first flight  
There were eyes on us and shadow-like hopes  
They all turned away because we couldn’t live up to them  
I lightly smile but  
My insides are twisted without anyone knowing about it  
~Mayday, GOT7

 

Mark stared out the window of the taxi at the colorful shops lining the streets as the taxi rolled past. Everything was covered in a light mist of rain and clouds covered the night sky, giving it a magical feel that made you forget you were in a car that probably hadn’t been cleaned in a year. He leaned his forehead against the cool glass pane, briefly closing his eyes against the Korean everywhere. 

It had only been a year since he had left South Korea for a break in the United States, but it already seemed like a foreign country instead of his homeland. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he slipped it out, seeing a text from Jackson. U there yet? Throwing party 4 u, come quickly! Mark rolled his eyes before replying; In taxi. He switched his phone off and put it back in his pocket. Of course Jackson was throwing a party. Socialization was what he did best.

The taxi swerved sharply around a corner, narrowly avoiding a truck, and Mark slammed into the door, banging his head on the window. Thankfully, living in America had made him realize that there was no exception to the seatbelt on at all times rule. The driver doesn’t even apologize, he hadn’t said a single word since Mark got in the car except to ask the address and if he had any money.

Mark is zoned out again when the taxi skids violently to another stop. He glances up wondering if they’re already at the address, but the driver has rolled down his window and is talking to somebody standing outside. A moment later the door opens and a girl around his age slips in, sitting by the window seat. 

She’s a slip of a girl, dressed as if going to a party in a dark blue sleeveless dress with a high neckline beaded in gold. It’s flowy, held loosely with a gold belt at the middle and she has on gold wedges. Her long brown hair fell like a waterfall down her back and bangles jangle on her arm as she slips a phone out of her tiny black purse. Her skin is light brown, like toffee, and she has warm eyes when she smiles at him, lips quirking. They’re glossy and pink and she wears slight hints of makeup that set off her natural beauty. 

“Where are you headed?” She asks, looking up from her phone. “My friend’s apartment. Apparently he’s hosting a party for my return.” Mark laughs awkwardly. “Oh, that’s such a coincidence! I’m going to a party too!” She laughs too, sticking out her hand. “I’m Park Jisu.” She says it with the ‘sue’ sound on the end instead of the ‘ooh’ sound, her voice smoothing the syllables neatly. 

“Mark Tuan.” Mark shakes her hand, which is soft and smooth and he catches a waft of honeysuckle lotion. She nods, looking like she’s waiting for him to continue the conversation, but he doesn’t really like talking. Jackson’s told him he’s frosty with strangers, cool but distant, and Mark responded that at least he wouldn’t get hurt if he didn’t get to close. Trusting people is dangerous and he’s not about to trust a girl he just met in the back of a taxi. 

Jisu’s smile fades slowly and she turns back to her phone, fingers tapping at the screen. Her fingernails are painted a glittering variety of colors, catching the light when they move. Mark’s phone vibrates again, he could have sworn he turned it off, but it must have turned back on since it did that occasionally. Another text from Jackson, this one saying; How long does a taxi ride take????!!!!!! Mark texted back; I took it from the airport and you live like 50 miles away from there, how long do you think?? I’ll be there in about 10 minutes.

He debated between switching his phone off again, but Jackson would probably text him back soon and it would turn back on anyways, so he left it on and scrolled through his music to find something to listen to. Plugging his earbuds in, Mark clicked on his hip hop playlist and relaxed against the seat as ‘Good Boy’ by Taeyang and G-Dragon came on. It had started to rain again outside and he watched the droplets slide down the window. 

His music must have been playing a little too loud, because Jisu tapped him on the shoulder lightly. “Can you please turn your music down?” She asked, phrasing it like a question and sounding uncertain almost. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Mark muttered quickly, turning it down, then changing to song to ‘Cypher Part 3’ by BTS. Jisu leaned over to see what he was listening too. “Oh, my friend is so obsessed with all the Cyphers. This one is, like, her favorite. Or maybe it’s part two? I don’t really follow hip hop that well, I’m more into all the dancing and voices and ballads and, um…” She trailed off, shifting uncomfortably, and then just nodded and went back to her phone. 

A few minutes later the taxi stopped in front of an apartment complex. Mark took out his earbuds and tucked his phone into his pocket, leaning forward to pay the driver and slinging his backpack onto his shoulder as he got out. Slamming the door, he walked around to the sidewalk to discover Jisu also getting out.

“Oh!” She looked at him in surprise. “You’re getting off here too?” Mark glanced at her briefly. “This is where my friend lives.” He jerked his head at the apartment building, striding towards the doors. Jisu jogged to catch up with him, her black heels clicking on the pavement. “Haha! That’s such a coincidence! My party’s here too!” Her laugh was high pitched.

Mark quickened his stride. “You said that earlier.” Jisu coughed nervously, clutching her purse tightly to her side as she practically ran to keep pace with him. He pushed open the door and let it bang shut onto her face. She barely managed to catch it, huffing angrily. “Yah! You don’t have to be so rude!” She yelled after him. Mark pressed the button for the elevator and ignored her.

She caught up with him anyways, frowning. “I was only trying to make conversation. At least be polite about not wanting to talk.” Jisu snapped, glaring at him icily. Mark glanced down at her, she was a good four or five inches shorter than him, and snorted quietly. “You should have just stopped talking. Didn’t your mother tell you not to talk to strangers?” He crossed his arms and stepped forward as the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

“Oh, a real cliche line.” Jisu muttered angrily. Mark entered the elevator and watched as she marched towards him. “Luckily for us, I have to go up too.” She added, moving forward, but then halting and grabbing the edge of the elevator to keep from falling over. Mark raised his eyebrows and she smiled awkwardly. “If I can just get my heel unstuck that is.” He leaned against the railing and watched in amusement as she shook her foot and muttered under her breath, trying to get her heel out of the crack between the elevator and the lobby floor. 

“You could just step out of it you know.” He observed, casually blowing out air. Jisu blew hair out of her face. “I bought these shoes for $200, no way am I abandoning them the first time I wear them.” Mark rolled his eyes. “That’s ridiculous.” “Are you a fashionista? Are you a girl for that matter?” Jisu demanded, then shrieked as the doors started to close. 

“Stop them!” She screeched. Mark put his hands up in a what can I do? motion. Jisu growled, flinging her foot wildly and pitching forward, shoe coming free, just as the doors closed. She crashed into Mark, sending them both toppling to the floor. Her hair fell across his face and her hands were wrapped around his arms, her breath hot on his face. It smelled like mint gum, like the packs Jackson had gone through when he was in middle school and suffering from halitosis.

Wide-eyed, Jisu stared down at him. Her eyes were large and dark brown, hinting at amber around the irises. “Move.” Mark grunted, shoving her off roughly. She smoothed her dress and grabbed her shoes, which were scattered on the ground as the other one had also fallen off when she had fallen on him. “You are so...so, so unbelievable!” She finished, cheeks flushed.

The red number switched to 9 and the elevator dinged, the doors opening. Jisu looked surprised. “Oh, how did you know what floor I needed?” Mark adjusted his backpack and hefted his duffel from the elevator floor, exiting. “It’s my floor too.” He turned to look at the nearest door number before checking the address one more time on his phone and turning to the left. Jisu walked behind him, still holding her shoes by the straps. 

There were only three apartments on the floor, so Jackson’s was rather easy to find. Mark rang the doorbell and settled back to wait. Bass vibrated from under the door, indicating the party was in full swing, so he wasn’t sure if Jackson could hear the doorbell. “Is this your friend’s apartment?” Jisu asked him, looking a little nervous. Mark nodded. “Why?” She coughed and shifted. “It’s just that this is where the party is being held too, so….You know Jackson?”

“Yeah. He’s my best friend.” Mark wasn’t sure why he kept answering her questions. Maybe it was because everything about her was fresh and bubbly and she seemed to make the world clearer and brighter just by standing there. Maybe because for the first time in a while he was talking to a complete stranger who was annoying, but cute and funny and didn’t know him enough to know. 

Jisu reached over and pressed the doorbell again. “We should knock if nobody comes.” She said, more to herself than to Mark. Bending to put on her shoes, she peered at Mark from beneath a curtain of hair, pushing it behind her ear. “He never mentioned you.” Mark smiled bitterly. “I was living abroad in America for a year. Besides, he never mentioned you either. He hasn’t mentioned anyone.”

The door swung open and noise spilled out into the hallway, distracting them from further awkward conversation. “Mark!” Jackson yelled and tackled him with a flying hug. This time, Mark made sure to grab the wall as best as he could to avoid completely falling for the second time in the span of ten minutes. “I texted you like five hours ago, what took you so long….?” He moaned dramatically, peeling himself off Mark. Mark grinned at his friend. “I told you I would be there in about ten minutes. It’s been twenty, that is not five hours last time I checked.”

Shrugging, Jackson looked over and spotted Jisu. “Hey, Jisu! You made it! Mirae was looking for you and Somin has been rocking on the dance floor. Anyway, now that you are here, do you mind dragging JB away from the snack table? I swear, he is too antisocial and he’s going to live alone one day in a giant house and wonder why he never lived his life.” Jackson yammered.

“Have you been drinking?” Mark asked, noting the signs of even a slightly drunk Jackson; talking really fast and a lot, extra clingy, and sharing opinions on everyone. “Only a little, I swear. It was like one bottle, I wanted to be sober for you when you came.” Mark found himself smiling at Jackson’s extraness. Jisu smiled politely to them, then excused herself to enter. 

“Come on. I wanna show you around, leave your stuff by the door.” Jackson latched onto Mark and grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the loud apartment. He managed to drop his duffel and backpack by the door as directed, maneuvering his way around a couple dancing with red solo cups sloshing liquid up the sides. Jackson had rigged up a disco ball somehow and it was dangling precariously from the ceiling, sending lights sparkling across sweaty partygoers dressed in neon and dresses and leather, flirting with each other and busting out dance moves on a table. In the kitchen snacks were laid out and drinks in those giant orange drink holders. By the kitchen there was a darkened hallway that probably lead back to the bedrooms. Which were probably occupied by couples making out.

Jackson was pushing open a pair of doors that lead to a large terrace where blue water glittered in a pool a couple feet in front of them. “Isn’t it cool?” Jackson asked, throwing his hands out widely and Mark had to admire that Jackson had really scored himself a great place. The terrace looked out over a park where everything had just bloomed, it being early June. It smelled like chlorine, a smell Mark had used to love. It was smooth white granite and people were shrieking and splashing each other, balls flying back and forth. The place was trashed at the moment, but imagining it at night, with the flowers Jackson had added blooming and the little tiki sticks glowing during the sunset would give it a magical feeling.

“Do you know all of these people?” Mark asked curiously, continuing to look around. “Probably not. It was a tell your friends and all the people they know kind of thing.” Jackson replied. Mark opened his mouth to ask another question when a tall guy interrupted them. “Yah! It’s a newbie! Pool time!” He yelled and Mark stepped back. “Pool time?” He looked towards the pool and unconsciously stepped backward. 

The guy smirks. “Initiation time.” Somebody else appears and grabs one of Mark’s arms and suddenly he’s being swarmed and lifted into the air. “Put me down!” He yells, looking for Jackson, but he has disappeared into the cheering crowd. Before Mark knows it the water is frothing below him and they throw him into the air and it’s still for a second before he crashes down.

The water envelops him like a silky blanket, spilling past him as he sinks, panicking and flailing blindly as he tries to swim, but his muscles have forgotten how. Mark can’t breath, everything aches, and suddenly he can’t stop seeing it. He’s there again.

_They throw him into the river once he’s so bruised he can barely move and even though it’s shallow, it’s deep enough, and the water is cold. He tries to move, but he’s so broken and bloody that it hurts to even move a finger. The water is over his head and he can only lie there as he tries to take a gasping breath and ends up choking on water, searching desperately for air but there is only water. He thrashes wildly, but he only goes in deeper and nobody is there. Nobody is there and all he can think about is a dark set of eyes from across the river filled with hatred even as that person laughs._

____

 

____

Above him Mark faintly hears a splash and looks up to see Jisu swimming towards him, making wide strokes with her arms as she reaches him. She tugs on his arm, kicking her legs, and her hair is billowing around her face and when it brushes past his face it’s soft and silky. Someone else grabs him and he feels himself being pulled upward and then they’re breaking the surface and wind is against his face.

____

The other person hauls him out and he can make out tan skin and a gray hoodie through the world swimming before his eyes. Jisu is shaking him, waving a hand, and saying something to him, but then Jackson is there and grabbing his shoulders. “Mark! Mark, look at me!” His voice sounded far away and Mark tried to focus on his eyes, but when he did they shimmered and were replaced with the dark eyes that burned him to the core. He took in a shuddering breath and coughed up water, wheezing for oxygen that he couldn’t seem to get. He’s in a haze and Jackson is now screaming and shaking him, and he sounds afraid. 

____

Mark tried to push himself to his feet, but he stumbled and he realizes how freezing he is, and then he can’t stop shivering. “Mark.” Jackson whispers, and draws him into a hug, but Mark can only weakly nod before he passes out on Jackson’s shoulder.

____


	2. Mayday, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is part 2 of the first chapter! I don't know how often I'll be updating, maybe a chapter a week? (For you that means a couple updates since I'm splitting up the chapters) Also, I felt you guys should know that I had different plans for this story starting out and changed a bunch of stuff. So stuff in this chapter might never appear again since I changed a bunch of things. Thank you for all the readers and everyone who sent kudos!  
> Another note for this chapter: I really love Yugyeom's part in this, I don't know why, but I really loved writing BamBam and Yugyeom's perspective in this whole story. You meet the rest of the characters in this too. (JB is literally me, he's my friends favorite :)

Yugyeom turned his phone over in his hands, elbows resting on his knees as he sat on the edge of the bed in the darkened room. Don’t check. Sighing in frustration, he ran his fingers through his black hair and flipped the phone around, powering it on and going to his messages. The last text he had sent was still unanswered, the read 8:41 p.m. sitting under it, but no reply.

He reread it. _Hey, Jackson’s having a party at his place tonight. If you finish early, you should come. _It was simple enough, just an invitation to a party. Of course he knew BamBam had a performance and filming tonight, that only sometimes ended early. Maybe he just was too busy, or had had to turn off his phone before replying a maybe/yes/sorry, I can’t make it. That had to be it.__

__Hitting the home button, Yugyeom turned his phone off again, tired of having the blue text bubble mock him. He’s busy. He’s not avoiding you. He’s just busy. His silent reassurance was futile and Yugyeom pulled at the edges of his fuzzy sky blue sweater anxiously. He was at a party for goodness sakes, senior year had just ended, but here he was sitting in a dark room obsessing over an unanswered text message._ _

__The door swung open and Somin cautiously peeked in. She brightened when she was Yugyeom. “There you are! I was afraid I was about to walk in on another couple kissing. Some of that was just...ugh.” She cringed, walking into the room and flopping down behind him. Her hair, which she had recently cut shoulder length and then dyed the bottom half dark red, swang. The top,dark brown, looked like chocolate against her skin tanned from playing sports outside all the time._ _

__Pulling a hair tie from her wrist, Somin pulled her hair up quickly into a ponytail, snapping the band into place. She had dressed loosely for the party, tight black jeans and a loose white crop top, the sleeves going to her elbows. Light bounced off her newly painted gold toenails that she was showing off with a pair of slim crisscrossing sandals and her dangling hoops that fell against the curve of her chin. She was slim and around 5’5, showing off her toned figure tonight, and Yugyeom got what BamBam saw in her, he really did. Somin was gorgeous, funny, athletic, and caring. The perfect girlfriend._ _

__“So, BamBam texted me that he’s going to be here in about half an hour.” Somin stretched her legs out in front of her, resting on her hands. “He’s coming?” Yugyeom’s head snapped up as he turned to look at her. She blinked. “He finished early, didn’t he text you?” Without meaning too, her words drove a barb in his heart. “I texted him early, but I guess he knew you would tell me.”_ _

__Somin laughed, earrings swaying. “He’ll be here soon. Anyways, what was that earlier? You left me to dance battle all by myself and disappeared! You haven’t even had a drink. What’s up?” She looked concerned and Yugyeom was slightly touched that she had been watching him and noticed he wasn’t his usual self at the party._ _

__Shrugging, he looked at the ceiling. “I’m not really feeling like a party tonight. I just needed some time to think. Sorry for abandoning you on the dance floor, but I’m sure you handled yourself just fine.” Somin smiled. “You bet I did. All of them were so wrecked.” Yugyeom allowed himself to smile back and watched how her eyes crinkled at the corners when she laughed. Her eyes were hazel, switching between green and gray and blue, or sometimes a mix of the three._ _

__Everything about Somin was perfect, but sometimes he wished someone, anyone, Somin or BamBam or Jackson or Jisu or any of his friends, would show a slip in character. He couldn’t be the only one with a mess inside._ _

__Just then the door opened and Jackson ran in, moving over to the dresser and opening a drawer. “Hey, we have spare clothes in here right?” He asked them without looking up. Yugyeom shrugged. “They’re everywhere.”_ _

__Jackson had the biggest apartment and though the others lived nearby and had their own apartments, most of the time they just stayed at Jackson’s for the night since they hung out all day anyways. Youngjae and JB all had dormed at their high school, but were now most likely going to be moving in with Jackson now that they had all graduated. Jinyoung had stayed at an off campus apartment after moving away from home. BamBam had a room at his entertainment where he sometimes stayed and Somin, Jisu, and Mirae were all dorming over the summer while they figured out where to move to. Yugyeom himself had also stayed at the dorms and was planning to continue there over the summer until he found a new place. Anyways, they all stayed over at Jackson’s so much that they all had spare clothes over there and were basically partially moved in already._ _

__Somin got up and stretched. “Come on Yugyeom. You need to get a drink and loosen up.” “I’m loose already.” Yugyeom grumbled, but allowed her to grab his arm and pull him up and out the door. Outside it was loud and already giving him a headache from being in a dark room for way too long and then being subjected to a world full of flashing lights and excessively loud noise._ _

__In the kitchen, Somin shoved a cup full of a unidentifiable liquid giving off a strong smell into Yugyeom’s hand and he held it, but didn’t take a sip. He was already feeling hot and sticky from the body heat, a fuzzy sky blue sweater and black jeans with combat boots had not really been the way to dress, and he felt slightly light headed, probably from lack of hydration and food. Drinking alcohol was the least likely thing to help him._ _

__A chiming sound filled the house above the pounding music that sounded Spanish. “Oh, that’s him.” Somin set her soda down on the counter and squeezed around him to run to the door. Yugyeom watched her move through the crowd, fling open the door and then BamBam stepped in, and he had no eyes for anyone else._ _

__BamBam still had on makeup, his eyes lined and eyeshadow glittering with his recently dyed pinkish red hair swept up. He was wearing tight leather pants and a dark blue t-shirt under a see through midnight blue long sleeved light jacket that reached his knees. His black ankle boots were decorated with rhinestones around the top. He was wearing two silver rings on his fingers and sapphire earrings shaped like flowers._ _

__Wrapping an arm around Somin’s waist, he drew her in and kissed her sweetly. She flung her arms around his neck as he held her against him. Yugyeom glanced down at his cup and downed half of it. Looked like he was going to be losing himself again tonight._ _

__~_ _

__“Nae yeope isseo jullae by my side, ni soneul jabado dwae don’t be shy…” JB sang softly as he listened to his newest composition. His earbuds were in, successfully blocking the noise from around him, and after changing into clean, and dry clothes, he had retreated again to the kitchen where there was food and some peace and quiet._ _

__“You have a nice voice, what are you singing?” He jolted, earbuds falling out. Mirae slipped onto one of the stools beside him and snagged a chip from the bowl, dipping it into salsa. “Oh...just something.” JB paused his song, wrapping his earbuds around his phone, and shoving it into his hoodie pocket._ _

__Mirae glanced up at him. “Why is your hair wet?” JB touched the his bangs, flicking off some water. “Jackson’s new friend got thrown into the pool and he wasn’t surfacing. Then Jisu dove in and she tried, but she’s not strong, so I went in and yanked him out. He was having a panic attack and then he passed out….” He paused, not sure if Mirae had wanted to know the story or just know why his hair was wet._ _

__Nodding, Mirae got up and opened the fridge, grabbing two Yakurutos and straws. She sat back down, poking one straw in her’s and sliding the other Yakuruto to JB. “Thanks.” JB murmured quietly, stabbing his straw through and taking a long sip, sucking in a gasp as the coldness hits his teeth and mouth. “Cold, cold, cold!” Mirae rolled her eyes. “That’s why you take slow sips.”_ _

__JB looked at her. “I’m thirsty.” She laughed, pushing a loose strand of black hair out of her eyes. Somin had obviously dragged her along, since Mirae was dressed casually in soft black capris and a white shirt with pink glittery wings across the back. Doodle covered black high tops dangled above the linoleum tiles, her hair pulled up into a half bun, most of it falling out of the bun. A couple wristbands labeled with kpop bands snaked up her arms, standing out against her pale milky skin, and she had on silver infinity earrings._ _

__“So, are you bored of this party or what?” Mirae glanced at him sideways, her dark eyes thoughtful. JB sighed, twirling his straw. “I honestly don’t know why I come to these things anymore.” “Because Jackson will kill you if you don’t. Also, he really wants you tofind someone to date and he thinks if you go to his parties you’ll have a greater chance of that.” Mirae supplied. JB nodded. Then; “Wait...he thinks I need to date someone?”_ _

__Mirae looked at him solemnly. “He needs you to date someone because you are a ‘social outcast who hangs by the food table and has no life.’” “What a great friend.” JB said sarcastically. They were interrupted by Jackson grabbing a bullhorn and standing on the table, blaring it loudly._ _

__“HEY! THE PARTY’S OVER, GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT UNLESS YOUR NAME IS, um, YUGYEOM, BAMBAM, SOMIN, JISU, JINYOUNG, MIRAE, MARK, and, er, oh yeah, JB! Wait a second, where’s Youngjae? ALSO YOUNGJAE AND COCO, WHEREVER YOU ARE!” Mirae winced, covering her ears. “Give Jackson a bullhorn and he can really project.” JB removed his earbuds, which he had shoved in as soon as Jackson had started talking. “And make everyone’s ears within a five mile radius explode.”_ _

__JB sucked in more frozen milk drink. “He’s going to make us clean.” “I am not moving unless someone makes me.” Mirae replied, scooping out a handful of chocolate raisins and tossing them one by one, trying to catch them in her mouth. She makes exactly five out of the thirty three. JB saves the rest from the floor and, using the five second rule of course, eats them all quickly, except for the one which falls into the salsa._ _

__People are slowly trickling out, directed by Jackson who seems kind of fed up with everything now. Soon it’s mostly silent except for random couples Jackson is sending out of the bedrooms and one from the bathtub. JB and Mirae have fallen into a comfortable silence of eating food and getting more random drinks, when Youngjae pads into the kitchen with Coco under his arm._ _

__“Hi guys.” He sat down besides Mirae, putting Coco, who was asleep, on the stool besides him. “Where were you?” JB asked, getting him a soda because Youngjae looked sleepy and Jackson would not let them sleep until his apartment was clean. Youngjae popped the top, the soft fizz of the carbonation springing up. “I was on the roof.”_ _

__JB and Mirae looked at each other. “Is there even a roof access ladder in this building?” JB asked. “You can climb out the window.” Mirae offered. “Have you done that before?” JB asked in confusion. Mirae frowned. “We did it all the time, do you mean you haven’t done it at least once? Somin, Jisu, Jackson, BamBam, Yugyeom, and I would hang out on the roof all the time. Jinyoung’s been with us a couple times, and I am so sure we invited you, but you never hang out with us at night. You had your special night courses and stuff, but I thought you had at least been up there on your own or that someone had told you about it.”_ _

__JB tilted his head, lost in thought. “Nobody ever told me about that.” He said at last, focusing on the red stripes on his straw. Of course he had known that they all hung out even when he couldn’t make it, but JB hadn’t known they’d created their own secret spots, their own hangouts, and had not informed him. They probably just assumed you knew. He told himself, but felt suddenly detached from his friends, like a floating island._ _

__Jackson appeared in front of them. He looked a little wild, a little drunk, and it was best to agree to whatever he had to say next. “It’s cleaning time. Get moving!” He yelled, tossing them rags. JB, Mirae, and Youngjae exchanged a look. The dreaded time had come._ _

__JB grabbed a rag. “Right away.”_ _

__~_ _

__“Hey, Jinyoung, could you put these in my bedroom?” Jackson asked, handing Jinyoung a duffel bag and a backpack. “Sure, who’s are they?” “They’re my friend who’s moving in with me, remember I told you guys about him right?” “Vaguely.” Jinyoung shrugged, slinging the duffel and backpack on his shoulders._ _

__“He’s jetlagged and got thrown in the pool, so he’s sleeping right now.” “Good for him that he doesn’t have to clean.” Jinyoung remarked snidely and Jackson glared. “Aigoo, just do it.” He disappeared to yell at Youngjae to stop putting Coco on stacks of pillows. Jinyoung turned around and headed to Jackson’s bedroom._ _

__The door was closed, and Jinyoung gently knocked before opening it slowly as to not wake Jackson’s friend. Finding his way in the dark was hard, so he keeps the door open, a warm wedge of light spilling in to meet the edges of the darkness. Making his way to the dresser, he leaves the duffel and backpack at the foot of it._ _

__Jinyoung is turned to leave when he catches sight of Jackson’s sleeping friend. And he stops, freezing. Because it’s Mark. He looks older, it’s been a year after all, and his hair is slightly darker, but otherwise he looks the same. Mark is wearing a pair of JB’s sweatpants and one of Jackson’s bright pink shirts that’s oversized, and his shoes are drying at the foot of the bed. His socks are bright and striped yellow and orange, like little bursts of sunshine._ _

__He can’t seem to stop staring, his heart is accelerating to four times its normal beat, and he slowly steps backward, nearly tripping. “Jinyoung?” Jinyoung startles, turning to look at Jisu, who is standing in the doorway wringing out her wet hair. She has on a pair of Somin’s old shorts and one of Jackson’s big red shirts that almost cover the shorts completely. She’s barefoot and looks small, swallowed by the clothes. All of Jackson’s clothes are overly big even on him, so they’re perfect for borrowing by anyone._ _

__“Jisu. Do you need something?” Jinyoung asked, leaning against the bedpost. “I came to check on Mark, to see how he was doing. He’s sleeping, so I guess he’s fine.” She shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting from him to the ground and back up to Mark. “Jackson is calling a meeting so we can sort out sleeping arrangements, by the way.”_ _

__“I’ll be there in the minute.” Jinyoung told her and she nodded, moving silently down the hallway. He looked once more at Mark, half of his face in shadow and the other half illuminated by the light, before walking out and closing the door behind him._ _

__~_ _

__Jackson feels slightly dizzy as he sits down on the couch. He tells himself he’s just tired and the alcohol is catching up with him. JB and Jinyoung have already claimed a bedroom as they’ve been friends since before either of them even met the rest of the group, except for Mirae who had lived next to JB. Somin, Jisu, and Mirae had taken another one because there was no way they were rooming with any guys and their ‘perverted thoughts’._ _

__“BamBam and Yugyeom, you guys can have the last one.” Jackson tells the maknaes, who both look pretty tipsy, as well as Somin. Jisu was, but being in the water had sort of worn it off, and he knows JB never drinks at parties because he doesn’t like the taste of it. Jinyoung can hold his alcohol better than anyone, so Jackson couldn’t tell if he was drunk or not. Mirae didn’t drink either, she didn’t like parties and only came because Somin and Jisu dragged her and it was sort of a tradition, end of the year parties at Jackson’s._ _

__The clock read 1 a.m. and Jackson waits for everyone to go to bed, half of them are already crashing before they even reach their designated bedroom, before running to the bathroom and throwing up. He sees the red swirling through the water and his vision blacks out for a split second. When he comes back he throws up again, his knuckles white from gripping the edge of the toilet._ _

__Mirae knocks on the door. “Jackson? Are you okay? You’ve been in there for a long time.” Jackson mentally curses. He opens his mouth to say I’m fine, but he throws up again. Mirae opens the door. “Jackson?!” She cries, running over to where he’s hunched over, trying not to pass out from the red lying just under his eyelids and the way the world keeps flipping and spinning, his headache sharpened so much that random bursts of color are interfering with his vision._ _

__“Oh my gosh, we need to get you to the hospital.” Mirae grabs her phone from her pocket and is dialing the number, but Jackson grabs her hand and stops her. “Mirae, I’m fine. Look, I know what’s going on. I’ll be fine, I swear.” She pauses, keeping eye contact with him for a minute. He must have sounded desperate because Mirae mutters; “Fine,” and reluctantly turns off her phone._ _

__“At least tell the others.” Mirae knelt beside him, flushing the toilet and filling a paper dixie cup with water, handing it to Jackson. He drank it gratefully, trying not to let his hands shake. “No. Keep it a secret, just this once. Please.” He pleaded when he had finished drinking. “Tell me what’s wrong, then. Jackson, you’re my best friend and I’ll keep it a secret if you want me to, but I need to know what’s wrong.”_ _

__She sounded close to tears and Jackson felt guilty, because Mirae hardly ever cried. Not when something sad happened, or when people betrayed and hurt her, or even when her father had died and her family had gone into debt last year. She had stood with dry eyes through the funeral, gave a stiff speech, and quietly stood in the back. “Anemia.” Jackson told her and Mirae frowned, hugging him for a long moment before standing up and leaving silently._ _

__Jackson stayed slumped against the coldness of the toilet for a while longer before getting up. He stared at himself in the mirror, skin pale and eyes with shadows underneath them, hair mussed. “You’re a wreck.” He said aloud, smiling at himself, then flipping off the light and leaving._ _

__Youngjae was asleep on the couch with Coco perched on top of him, a fluffy white ghost in the darkness, and the tv was glowing eerily in front of them. Jackson walked over and turned it off, padding back down the hallway and into his room. Mark was asleep still and Jackson crawled in beside him._ _

__“Good night.” He whispered to the darkness._ _


	3. Sign, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the good feedback and everything! This chapter (Sign) is the longest chapter so I had to split it kind of unevenly. This part is long, since I probably won't be updating over the weekend. The YugBam backstory can tide you over until Monday. Can you spot the BTS cameos?
> 
> Side note: NEWTON was so good. Did anyone else watch it and then feel really happy? Also, who else is psyched for the JJ Project comeback???!!!

The accessory we had on together it’s becoming meaningless  
Even all of you that has been embedded in me  
I’m diving so deep   
(I’m diving so deep)  
I know you’re looking at me   
(look at me)  
I can’t do this anymore, I need you now  
~Sign, GOT7

BamBam woke up with a piercing headache, feeling hazy. Bright sunlight streamed through the window, making him squint and his head pound even more. Looking beside him he saw Yugyeom curled up in a tight ball, fast asleep. His hair was sticking up, even in sleep, and BamBam laughed to himself. For a moment things felt simple between them, like they had back in elementary when they had first met.

 

_BamBam didn’t speak a lot of Korean, because his family had just moved from Thailand, and he was starting kindergarten at a brand new school. The whole day he had been trying not to cry and when there was finally free time he had escaped to the coloring corner only to find another kindergartener coloring away using all of BamBam’s favorite colors._

_Yugyeom had been a tiny little kindergartener with chubby hands and cheeks and a bright red sweater. He was lying on his stomach, legs kicking in the air, as he used bright blues and dark reds to color in a picture of a boat. The boat picture that BamBam had been eyeing the whole day because boats were his favorite things ever._

_Since his mother always told him to be nice and polite, BamBam asked; “Can I color that picture?” In the best Korean he could manage. Yugyeom, always the possessive child, had looked up and glared. “No. You talk funny.” It was a great insult to BamBam and so he said the best thing he could think of._

_“Well you have fat cheeks!” It was a really mean thing to say when you were a kindergartener and Yugyeom had stared up at BamBam, lip quivering, then, as if on que, both of them had burst into tears. Yugyeom later told BamBam it was because he had always hated his cheeks, and BamBam because he didn’t like Korea and wanted to go back to Thailand._

_After they had both settled down and ate their snack, Yugyeom slid the half colored picture of the boat towards BamBam with some colored pencils. “You can color with me if you want.” He had said shyly, not looking up. BamBam took the red and started coloring in a cloud. “Okay.”_

_They stayed friends all the way through fifth grade until BamBam’s parents got a divorce and his father took him back to Thailand. BamBam was not allowed to talk in Korean or say anything about Korea, since his father wanted to forget everything about his mother. So BamBam forgot the language, but he didn’t forget Yugyeom, and he didn’t make new friends._

_Five years later, when BamBam was in the middle of sophomore year, his mother finally claimed full custody of him and he went back to Korea. They arranged for him to spend the rest of the school year settling in and start the new school year in the fall, but his mother still had him tour schools to find the right one._

_One of the schools was the School of Performing Arts. As BamBam followed the lady through the hallways, she stopped in front of a door that had music blasting out. “This is our dance team.” She had said and BamBam peeked in, seeing a group of teenagers dancing a very hard looking and extremely fast choreography. He looked over them and could’ve sworn he saw someone who looked like a super tall Yugyeom, but the lady motioned him along before he could get a closer look._

_Since BamBam’s mom had had to leave early for a meeting, so BamBam had to take the bus. He was waiting outside the school, on a bench, when the dance team finally left. He didn’t pay much attention, until someone sat down next to him and waved a hand in front of his face._

_“BamBam?” BamBam had jumped, turning around to find himself face to face with his childhood friend and another girl. “Yah! You look different! You have glasses and everything. When did you move back?” Yugyeom had basically looked the same, except he was maybe fifty inches taller than he had been when BamBam had last seen him._

_They spent the whole bus ride talking and BamBam met Somin, who had grasped his attention from the start with the smallest movements. BamBam didn’t get accepted into the Performing Arts school and instead went to a regular high school somewhat close by. That’s when the bullying started and halfway through the year he tried again for acceptance and got in, leaving behind his old school and the bad memories that belonged hidden there._

_He started dating Somin shortly after that and got scouted by JYP Entertainment because of a cover he posted online. He began training and in the middle of senior year debuted as a solo artist with quickly rising popularity. He made appearances in several dramas, starring in commercials, and working on his own music and doing special stages. The idol life was exciting and induced adrenaline rushes every time a stage finished. He used to have panic attacks when performing in front of crowds, but BamBam told himself he was over that now._

_Being an idol used up a lot of his time and maybe if he’d been more observant things would’ve been the same way between him and Yugyeom as they used too. But he couldn’t forget what had happened at the party two weeks ago._

_“When are we going to tell Somin?” Yugyeom asked. BamBam turned away from him, standing in the doorway and looking back. “You tell her. It was your fault.” ___

__

__His phone buzzed and BamBam pressed the home button, glancing at his notifications. Several from his manager, probably yelling at him to get to practice. BamBam didn’t bother to read them, he couldn’t go to practice this hungover, and if his manager saw that they had been read, then he’d know BamBam was up and keep badgering him._ _

__Checking the time, 10: 42 a.m., BamBam quietly got up, the bed creaking as he stood. He changed quickly, pulling on a pair of jeans and a white tank top with a wool blue sweater. He tried to fix his hair as best as he could without a mirror, but eventually gave up and tried to open the door as silently as possible. It still screeched on the hinges impossibly loud. Cringing, he checked to make sure nobody else was coming to yell at him, then slipped out and slide into the kitchen._ _

__To his surprise Mirae was sitting on the counter, scrolling through her phone and sipping on a smoothie. Without looking up she said; “Coffee’s by the percolator.” “How long have you been up?” BamBam asked as he walked around to the percolator, pouring himself a cup of steaming brown liquid. He wasn’t a fan of coffee, but it was the best thing besides water to get over a hangover and it also was caffeinated, something water was not._ _

__“I didn’t really sleep.” Mirae replied and BamBam nodded, rummaging through the fridge for something to eat for breakfast. He came up with a container of muffins and put them on the counter, then grabbed Jackson’s impressive cereal collection. “Let’s see…” He murmured to himself, sorting through the choices. “Honey Nut, Lucky Charms, Oatmeal Squares, Mini Wheats, and Coco Puffs. Darn, no Captain Crunch.” He settled on Coco Puffs and poured himself a bowl, hoping nothing was expired._ _

__“Is anyone else up?” BamBam asked as he leaned against the counter to eat, the table was too far away and he didn’t want to eat alone. “Um, I think JB or Youngjae are showering. Jisu went out to grab doughnuts because Krispy Kreme is having a sale. Basically everyone else is still sleeping, we all crashed kind of late.” She said it all without looking up from her phone, brow furrowed as she scrolled through something._ _

__“What are you even looking at?” BamBam leaned around, trying to catch a glimpse of the screen, but Mirae hit the home button so fast that all he saw was black type against a white page. “None of your business.” She sounded almost angry, and BamBam slowly settled into his original position. “Fine. Geez, I won’t pry again I guess.” He shoveled more cereal into his mouth and he saw Mirae slump back against the microwave across from him._ _

__They sat in silence for a couple more moments, but then someone who BamBam assumed was Jackson’s friend walked into the kitchen, saving them from more awkward conversation or more likely, lack of it. “Hey.” He muttered, moving to get coffee and BamBam set down his empty bowl of cereal to grab a muffin and to also discreetly study the newcomer._ _

__He was probably a year or so older than BamBam with light brown caramel hair lying flat, bangs slightly curled and light skinned, not exactly pale but not as tan as JB. He had on a pair of black jeans and a black turtleneck with a dusty pink rose sweater falling over his hands, he kept shaking the sleeves up as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Something about him reminded BamBam of someone, but it wasn’t until he looked up and made eye contact, his eyes were dark brown, almost hazel, that BamBam realized who he was._ _

__When BamBam was back in junior year, he had just come from Thailand and wore glasses and could barely speak Korean. He had learned to trust Jinyoung slowly but surely, but when he had first seen Jinyoung again he had felt his throat close up. The panic attacks had slowly stopped, but now, seeing Mark, he couldn’t breathe. The claustrophobic feeling of being unable to walk home without being attacked, or being forced to hide and stay silent, not knowing when he could be found rushed over him like a waterfall._ _

__Recognition flicked over Mark’s eyes and BamBam used that moment to finish his coffee. The hot liquid scalded his throat, but it woke him up and his chest eased and he breathed easier. Mirae jumped down from the counter and grabbed a muffin. “You’re Jackson’s new roommate, right?” She asked Mark. “Mmmhmm. I’m Mark.” He shook her hand, pushing up his floppy sleeve. Mirae looked him up and down. “Approved.” She announced, then opened the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice._ _

__The bathroom door opened and Youngjae slid out, toweling off his wet hair. “JB!” He yelled over his shoulder, waving at them. “You can use the shower now!” “Kay!” JB yelled from one of the bedrooms and a moment later darted into the bathroom and slammed the door, probably so anyone else awake couldn’t try and steal it, especially as most people, like BamBam and Yugyeom, always took his shower spots._ _

__Youngjae grabbed the box of lucky charms, opening his mouth and dumping some in, then getting a glass of milk as he crunched, gulping that too. Mirae’s nose crinkled as she watched him. “Get a bowl, you’re acting like a barbarian.” Youngjae grinned around rainbow charms and cheerios. “Nope.” Youngjae responded, but it came out more like ‘num’. BamBam stifled a laugh, walking around to the sink, where he deposited his bowl and got more coffee._ _

__“You guys are so loud.” Jinyoung mumbled as he slouched into the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. He was wearing silky blue pajamas and fluffy slippers and his hair was sticking up everywhere. BamBam would’ve laughed if he hadn’t known that Jinyoung would kill him later._ _

__Looking back, BamBam couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment the cup of coffee fell from Mark’s fingers, only that it crashed to the floor and shattered into fragments. Brown liquid swirled up like chocolate, then splashed down onto the ruins. Mark crouched quickly, apologizing, and Mirae slid down to help him, grabbing a roll of paper towels that Youngjae had passed to her without question._ _

__As they picked up the pieces, BamBam noticed Mark’s hands were trembling. Jinyoung though didn’t seem surprised, though he had started when the cup had hit the ground. Somin burst out of her room. “What happened?!” She asked, carefully taking the porcelain pieces and placing them in the trash can. “You guys have to be careful or you’ll cut yourself.” She added, passing a couple of damp paper towels to Mirae._ _

__“Sorry. My finger slipped.” Mark grinned up from under his bangs, but BamBam could still see that he was shaken. Mark got up and carefully maneuvered around Jinyoung to get a bowl, his eyes never directly making contact. Jinyoung stepped back into the hallway. “I’m getting dressed, you guys better not break anything else.” He warned, disappearing and bumping into JB who was just coming out of the shower._ _

__JB glanced around the kitchen. “Wow, it’s crowded. Why are all you guys so quiet? Hey, new guy, are you feeling better? Jackson mentioned you were jet lagged and given the near drowning experience…” He trailed off awkwardly, as if realizing that he didn’t really know Mark and they weren’t on friendly enough terms to just loosely chat about life. “I’m fine.” Mark replied briskly._ _

__The door banged open loudly and BamBam jumped. Jisu stumbled in, balancing a stack of five doughnut boxes that were nearly making her bend in half. Youngjae ran over to help her. “Why did you get five?” Somin asked. “Not that I’m complaining of course, but are we going to be able to eat all of them?”_ _

__Jisu rubbed her arms, shrugging her loose braid over her shoulder. “Krispy Kreme was having a sale okay, and have you seen everyone eat? These will be gone by tomorrow, mark my words. I also got so many fillings and sprinkles and different types it will be like a rainbow in your mouth!” She flung her arms out dramatically. “Great advertising.” Mirae remarked, cracking open a box._ _

__“You got doughnuts?” Yugyeom asked, yawning as he stretched in the doorway to the kitchen. “Yeah, cause I’m the best.” Jisu said. “I got up at five in the morning to go and drive like 50 miles to get these for you guys, so eat up and don’t complain.” “I wasn’t going to.” Yugyeom frowned at her, walking over and leaning to snag a plain glazed, his elbow bumping BamBam. Instinctively, BamBam jerked away from the contact and Yugyeom paused, glancing sideways at him, then moving away._ _

__“You got up at five every morning during the school year to do your makeup, and Krispy Kreme is literally five blocks away.” Somin was saying. “Hey, if Krispy Kreme is so close, why do we barely ever get doughnuts?” JB observed and Jisu shrugged. “Nobody wants to get up early everyday, duh.”_ _

__JB huffed. “Not like Somin just told us about your makeup at that unearthly hour of five.” Jinyoung came back into the kitchen, bringing the people count up to nine, and Jackson’s kitchen could probably only fit five, but they made it work, passing the doughnut box around._ _

__They were all chilling, eating doughnuts, and even Mark had loosened up slightly even though BamBam could still see that he was tense, like a coiled spring. Then Jackson cartwheeled into the kitchen, stuffed a doughnut into his mouth, and yelled; “Who’s ready to go shopping?!” He looked around the silent kitchen. “What did I miss?”_ _

__“Shopping?” JB echoed._ _

__~_ _

__Somin ended up squished between Yugyeom and BamBam in the backseat of Jackson’s tiny car. Jackson’s car was tiny and compact, ‘to save energy’, and could barely fit them all, even though it was a van. A van with a very low roof that her head slammed into everytime the car coasted over even a remote bump. Jackson was driving and he was an insane driver, practically getting into crashes with every acceleration of the gas pedal. Mark was sitting shotgun and they were talking quietly, even though, in the middle, Jisu kept yelling at them to watch the road while clinging to Youngjae. Beside Youngjae were JB and Mirae, they had forced Jinyoung to sit with the maknae line in the back. Jinyoung did not looked thrilled, given that he was squashed uncomfortably against the window._ _

__“When will we be there?!” Jisu cried. “Jackson, you are the reason I have car sickness because I never get carsick unless I am in a car when you are driving.” She clapped a hand over her mouth and Youngjae passed her his hat. “Please don’t actually throw up in it.” He said and Jisu stuck her head in, nodding and saying a muffled reply that Somin didn’t catch._ _

__Jackson looked back to respond and this time it was Jinyoung who screamed at him to keep his eyes on the road. He grumbled and turned back. “We’ll be there in like five minutes, it’s not like you guys don’t know how long it takes to get to the mall.” “There are over one hundred malls in Seoul alone.” Mirae supplied from where she was curled up, sharing earbuds with JB. Honestly, Somin totally shipped them and really wanted them to get together. Jisu and Jackson and Mirae and JB were her OTPs, not counting her and BamBam of course. Though she also shipped Jinyoung with both of them. She had not told her friends about her shipping dreams of course, they would be so mad at her._ _

__“And...we’re here.” Jackson announced, almost flipping the car sideways as he screeched into an empty parking space, cutting off another driver who was moving to take the spot. The driver said something that made Somin cover Yugyeom’s ears. He might have been a few months older than her, but he was much too innocent. Unlike BamBam._ _

__After getting out of the car, a.k.a. everyone falling out of the car and getting elbowed and trampled on as they tried to reach the one door because the other was stuck shut, they all gathered in the parking lot for a meeting before going in. “So I have a little surprise before we go in…” Jackson started, grinning like the Chesire Cat._ _

__“Please do not let it be like your last surprise which ended with me having to go to the hospital because you ‘didn’t know the wooden beam would come swinging around again’.” JB intercepted, rubbing his head like he was remembering the pain. Somin remembered that. There had been a lot of blood and it was honestly terrifying, except for the part where everyone had started laughing in the waiting room and gotten kicked out. It was winter too and they had all had to wait outside on a snowy park bench and freeze to death until Mirae came and told them that JB was going to be okay and they could go home now._ _

__Jackson clapped his hands. “As I was saying, it will most likely not end like last time even though there is a 85.62% possibility of us causing a wreck and getting banned from the mall and maybe causing and getting several other injuries.” “Exciting.” Mirae said drily and Jackson gave her a look. “You are such a pessimist. Let’s go!” He turned to run across the street, which ensured much yelling and Mark and Jisu yanking him back, both grabbing one arm, as he narrowly avoided getting hit by a car. A car and driver that suspiciously resembled the car and driver that Jackson had taken the parking spot from._ _

__He led them into the mall, where air conditioning blasted in their faces. Jackson veered off to a kiosk that was at the entrance. “Jackson Wang, I reserved ten for today from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.” “Ten what?” Yugyeom whispered, leaning in. Somin shrugged. “Hopefully ten full breakfast sets complete with a stack of seven pancakes, sausage, two scrambled eggs, twenty pieces of extra crispy bacon because we’re all so extra here, and whipped cream that covers the whole plate.”_ _

__“That actually sounds so delicious if I hadn’t eaten enough carbs already.” BamBam stuck out his tongue and rubbed his stomach. Yugyeom glanced at him in amusement. “You couldn’t gain weight if you tried to.” BamBam blew out a breath. “Stuck at 115 pounds forever.” Somin wrinkled her nose and hit him, pouting. “Some people weigh more than you, no need to complain. You’re blessed to be able to eat forever and stay skinny with super long legs when some people have short legs and weigh like 130 pounds and are short to begin with.”_ _

__“Are you talking about Jackson?” Jinyoung smirks, raising his eyebrows. Somin tried to slap him, but he leaned away, hands in his pockets and a nonchalant air around him. She hated being short, especially having short legs. “No. I was talking about me.” She told him crossly. “What about me?” Jackson yelled from the kiosk, where he seemed to be arm wrestling with the guy behind the counter._ _

__BamBam threw an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead, brushing away a flyaway strand of hair. “Don’t say that about yourself. You’re beautiful.” He buried his face in her hair, adding; “Your hair smells like coconut.” Somin leaned against his shoulder, closing her eyes briefly as the smell of his cologne tickled her nose. Jisu sighed somewhere to her right. “Aw. Cute couple goals. If only I was in a relationship.”_ _

__Somin would have glared at her for ruining the moment, but Jackson yelled and waved at them to come over to him, and the moment ended. BamBam captured her hand as they walked over and her heart leapt with giddiness. They had been together for over a year, but the smallest things made her want to scream to the world that she had the best boyfriend in the world._ _

__The guy behind the counter was listing rules. “Please watch where you are going and always hold onto your handle. Pay attention to the signs that say which stores you are allowed to ride the G-Wheels in.” G-Wheels? The name sounded vaguely familiar, but… Somin saw Mirae and Jisu exchange a confused glance. So she wasn’t the only one that had no idea what the guy, Seokjin as his name tag said, was talking about._ _

__“Wear your sticker at all times and never leave the G-Wheel unoccupied. If any damage is done to the G-Wheel, you will be fined a considerable amount, the starting minimum $10,000.” Jackson looked like he was regretting his life choices and mourning the death of his wallet. Where there was Yugyeom and BamBam, there was always destruction. “Please return at the allotted time and enjoy your ride.” He opened a door and ushered them in._ _

__Somin saw what the G-Wheels were, as Jinyoung said; “Oh heck no.” They were two wheeled with a ridge to balance on and a stretchy handle you had to hang onto and steer with. Mirae groaned. “I have 8% bodily kinesthetic in me, I think I’ll pass.” Mark was the only one who looked remotely excited. He took the sticker from Seokjin and stuck it on, walking over and choosing one. “It’ll be just like riding a skateboard.”_ _

__Jackson grabbed one too. “Come on guys! Stop standing around and let’s get ready to…” “DO NOT.” Mirae said, lasering him with her gaze. Jackson grinned. “Rock and roll!!!!!!” Mirae tried to hit him, but he hid behind the row of scooters. Youngjae and JB were reluctantly figuring out how to step on it and Mirae finally moved forward, muttering about how Jackson was paying the fine if she crashed and wrecked something important._ _

__“I want a red one.” Yugyeom said and ran to grab one that had flames. “Blue one!” Somin called, diving to grab the wave one in case anyone tried to take it before she was able to get it. BamBam smiled at them. “I’ll be the Earth Nation I guess.” He said, taking a green earthy looking one. Somin glanced at their choices. “Too bad we don’t have an airbender. Wait, Jisu!” Jisu froze. “Grab the white one, we need to complete the set.” Jisu did, looking at them weirdly. “You all are such anime nerds, but whatever pleases you.”_ _

__After a short navigation and driving lesson from Seokjin who kept adding in helpful hints such as; ‘please be safe and never eat or drink while driving’ and ‘no texting while driving’ and, most importantly, ‘be a safe driver’, Jackson divided them into groups. “Yugyeom, BamBam, and Somin, you are group…” He paused and BamBam filled in; “Avatar.” “Okay, you are group Avatar. Mark, Jisu, and I are group CTFD, no comments. Youngjae, Mirae, JB, and Jinyoung, you are group…” He stopped again and they all looked at each other until Mirae finally said; “Um, we’re group Jrae.” Jinyoung snorted. Somin decided not to mention that Jrae was one of the ship names she had for Mirae and JB, some others being MiB and Jaemi._ _

__“Meet back at the food court in two hours.” Jackson announced. “I do not have $10,000 and I have never had $10,000, or even earned $10,000 in my four years of working at a coffee shop that had five thousand customers a day. So do not destroy these.” He looked pointedly at Yugyeom and BamBam. “Wait, but we don’t know how to ride these!” BamBam said frantically. Mark looked at him. “Seokjin literally just explained it to us.”_ _

__Jackson sighed and threw an arm around Mark’s neck. “Oh Mark, you’ll get used to BamBam’s stupidity eventually. It’s a fact of life.” BamBam gasped in fake scandalization. Yugyeom cracked a smile until Jinyoung added; “Yugyeom is just plain idiotic.” Somin laughed. “Let’s go guys. We all need some new wardrobes except for maybe BamBam.” BamBam got onto his G-Wheel. “Hey, I always need new clothes, what are you talking about?”_ _

__It’s easy to start riding the G-Wheel, but steering is another thing as Somin discovers when she tries to turn a corner and runs into a pretzel stand. The lady is so pleasantly surprised and happy to have something happen that she gives them all free pretzels. Yugyeom accidentally drops his pretzel over the stairs and onto the basement level due to almost falling off his G-Wheel and having to use both hands to steady himself, thus the pretzel falls to its death. When Somin looks down, she sees a passerby looking up at them suspiciously._ _

__They go to the top clothing store in Korea, some place BamBam raves about, and since their G-Wheels are allowed, cruise in on them. Somin likes to think she looks cool on it, but she knows she really looks like she’s about to fall off at any moment. The store helper points them to a set of clothing on a rack that is ‘all the rage for dancers’ these days._ _

__Some of the clothing is cool and Somin tries on several items before finding a sleeveless turtleneck top that ends right above her bellybutton, the top part netted. It goes with a pair of black leggings and a short red plaid skirt, knotted in the front to make it look like it’s a jacket she’s tied around her waist. When BamBam sees her modelling it, his jaw literally drops and she spins around, arms over her head._ _

__“Babe, you look gorgeous.” He breathes and Somin again thinks of how lucky she is to have a boyfriend who tells her she looks beautiful all the time, never shies from skinship, and always lets her know what he’s feeling. Especially when he conveys those feelings through kisses or hugs. BamBam tugs her ponytail lightly and Somin leans up and kisses him quickly. “I know I do.” She whispers in his ear as she pulls away._ _

__Yugyeom sighs in disgust. “You guys do waaay too much PDA.” Somin huffs. “Just because you're single doesn’t mean you have to rain on everyone else's happy relationships.” “Actually you two are the only one in our group of friends who are in a happy relationship. Nobody else is in a relationship, period.” For some reason Somin has never realized that nobody else but her and BamBam are dating. Maybe it’s the skinship, or how comfortable everyone is with each other, but it’s easy to forget that SoBam is the only real ship happening in their group at the moment._ _

__“Try on these pants.” Somin says, tossing Yugyeom a pair of black pants. Yugyeom holds them up. “I already have so many pairs of black skinny jeans, why do I need another pair?” He moves to put them back, but BamBam tosses him a yellow orange long sleeved shirt. The bottom half of the sleeves are white and a white stripe across the center says MY SWAGGER. It has a halfway zipper and zips up at his neck. Yugyeom examines it carefully and Somin waits for him to throw it back at BamBam, but instead he says; “Okay.”_ _

__He disappears into a changing room and Somin goes to put on her regular clothes, ombre pink and white jeans with sparkles and a unicorn t-shirt, because who doesn’t love unicorns? After changing she came back out to find BamBam scrolling through his phone, texting someone, but standing alone. Somin looked around, but Yugyeom must still be changing. He was taking a while._ _

__“Yugyeom? Are you ready yet?” She called, bouncing on the balls of her tennis shoes. “I am, but I don’t think it’s working….” “Just come out already, we don’t have all day!” BamBam yelled and Somin heard the door open and Yugyeom stepped out. She had been prepared for the worst, since he had said it wasn’t working, but he actually looked really hot. Given that he was six feet tall, the jeans fit his long legs perfectly and the shirt rippled whenever he moved, looking like silk. He smiled shyly at their reactions,  
Somin’s a whoop and BamBam’s open mouthed staring. With the recently added blue green highlights in his fluffy black hair and mischievous eyes, Yugyeom looked like a total bad boy with a softie side. _ _

__He tugged at the edges of his shirt. “I’m guessing I look fine?” Somin punched him playfully in the shoulder. “Of course you do. Now stop acting weird and act cocky like you usually do, you asking for opinions is kind of weirding me out.” It was something she had been noticing over the last two weeks, the usual self assured Yugyeom sort of folding in on himself, becoming shyer and quieter, the air filled with an unknown tension whenever he and BamBam were in the same room. Somin hadn’t pressed, at least not yet, but she was gradually getting worried._ _

__“Okay, who’s paying?” BamBam asked, putting his phone away and brushing a strand of amaranth colored hair out of his eyes. “I’m actually broke at the moment because I just bought that new BigBang album. I mean, I could’ve stopped myself, but Daesung literally stared straight into my soul in the new music video and I knew he wanted me to buy that album.” Somin explained, dead serious._ _

__Yugyeom looked at her in confusion. “But BigBang disbanded?” “It was their last comeback, okay?” Somin tried not to tear up at the thought. “I also don’t have money.” BamBam added. Yugyeom looked at him like he couldn’t believe that. “You’re an idol, how do you not have money?” BamBam coughed, saying something quickly about how he had needed makeup._ _

__“Thanks for buying for me!” Somin handed Yugyeom her bag and shoved him up to the front cash register. Yugyeom tried to get away, but the cashier was already ringing up his purchases, so he reluctantly got out his wallet, patting it softly. As he payed, BamBam hopped back onto his G-Wheel, vrooming around boredly. Except he overestimated when turning and accidentally bumped into a clothing rack. It would’ve been fine, if it had stopped there. But it doesn’t and, slowly but surely, all the racks in store go down like dominoes._ _

__There is a second of silence in which Yugyeom turns around with the bags in his hands and the cashier stops reaching for the receipt, a look of such horror on his face that it is indescribable. Then the yelling starts, the yelling for someone called ‘security’, which also means, ‘cue to leave’. Somin and Yugyeom jump onto their G-Wheels, getting a running start as they skid out of the shop, BamBam following, except he reacted slower and is balancing on one foot while trying to figure out how to safely rebalance himself._ _

__Turns out, security has a little car that he can use to chase people. The security guy actually looked pretty scary, his hair was a bright purple and he was wearing glasses and a blue suit with a shiny badge. They booked it as fast as they could, swerving around like Jackson was driving. Yugyeom was screaming something about irresponsibility, but Somin was actually having a really good time._ _

__Until that set of marble stairs appeared in front of them and she found herself airborne. Someone, who she personally believed was BamBam, screamed in a falsetto. Yugyeom grabbed his handle, looking a little green. Somin told herself it was just like surfing even as she swiveled around, narrowly avoided a railing. Security tried to follow them, but his tiny putt putt motor cart flipped over onto its side. He got up and screamed after them, something about Seokjin hearing about this, which was honestly scary because Seokjin had gotten this manic glint in his eyes when he had been talking about safety._ _

__Falling to the bottom of the stairs, Somin stopped and sunk down to a crouching position, legs feeling like jelly. The initial high from flying down a set of stairs was wearing off and now she was questioning why she had even done that. Yugyeom was laying on his back in the middle of the floor, looking like he was regretting ever hanging out with them. BamBam had a terrified expression on his face._ _

__Unfortunately, they couldn’t rest. Security was now running down the stairs towards them, yelling into his walkie talkie. “How about we go to the food court early.” Somin stood up quickly, almost falling over again because of knee failure. “Noooooo.” Yugyeom moaned as Somin tried to pull him up, only succeeding when BamBam came and grabbed one of Yugyeom’s hands to help him up. Somin noticed Yugyeom smiling and wondered why he suddenly had had a change of heart and looked so happy and slightly embarrassed._ _

__“YOU THREE! I COMMAND YOU STOP IN THE NAME OF SECURITY!” Purple haired guy yelled. He was close enough that Somin could just make out the name on his badge, Namjoon. Too bad. It would have been funny if his name really was security. BamBam got back on his G-Wheel and Yugyeom grabbed the two bags, throwing Somin’s outfit at her and then driving off without waiting for them._ _

__“Yah!” Somin screeched, stumbling as she tried to mount quickly, then having a moment of panic when her G-Wheel wouldn’t move, nearly falling off again when it suddenly moved rather fast. BamBam was yelling at them to ‘wait for him already, why did they always leave him behind?’ and Somin was smiling so big she thought her face would split apart. She really loved hanging out at the mall._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The G-Wheels are what GOT7 were on in Girls, Girls, Girls in case you didn't know. So that's what they look like.


	4. Sign part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised that I'd update on Monday, but Samuel Sixteen and ONF On and Off and then I was watching School 2017 so yep. It was a little overwhelming. I think I might be updating again on maybe Monday, but I'm not exactly sure.

Jisu was having a fun time looking at makeup samples with group CTFD. Mark was examining a palette of eyeshadow curiously as Jackson held up shades of lipstick to his face to see how it contrasted. She needed a new brush for wing tipping her eyeliner, so she was examining that section. There was literally a table full of samples, so it was a great money saver. Not that she had brought any money to begin with.

So as she was saying, she was having a fun time. Until she caught sight of a head of pink hair and a black confetti sweater moving towards her. Like, right on collision course with her. “Quick, hide.” Jisu hissed, tugging at Jackson and Mark, trying to lead them into an aisle so they can avoid that person who is so cute and shall not be named.

“Why?” Jackson asks as Mark flings her hand off of his wrist roughly, frowning. Jisu really wants to huff in annoyance, because he was already rude enough to her in the taxi. “Just, quickly.” She looks around frantically, trying to spot that pink head of hair again, and sees it a little too late, walking down the aisle.

“Hey Jisu!” Park Jimin waves, smiling cutely, black knit sweater sleeve flopping. Her heart melts a little, even though she’s mostly gotten over him. He’s just so cute all the time and would’ve been such a great boyfriend. She’s sure he is. She’s not bitter or jealous or anything. Not at all. Of course not. It’s normal to feel super awkward around him. Totally. Besides, she likes someone else now.

“Oh, hey Jimin. What are you doing here?” Jisu asks, fingers playing with the end of her braid, a nervous habit she has. Jackson notices, and he raises his eyebrow at her, like; full story later. “Yoongi’s getting something quickly, so I thought I’d check out the eyeliner.” He gestures at the exact eyeliner Jisu was just examining a moment ago. “What about you?” He tilts his head, a picture of curiousity.

Jisu tugs at the hem of her soft purple hoodie sweater, trying not to do a mental checklist of her outfit. Black jeans with rips over her thighs, hair in a loose braid, heeled leather ankle boots with silver zippers up the sides, the laces pink. The outfit seemed fine when she left, but double checking herself when in front of Jimin had become such a habit in high school that she can’t help but do it when facing him again.

“Jiminie! I’m ready to go!” A voice calls and a short man with slightly wavy black hair and a striped black and white shirt, a light blue windbreaker, jeans, gray converse, and black fingerless gloves walks over. He’s extremely good looking, even rocks the pierced ears and is pale as sugar, and also extremely familiar. Jisu nearly cringes when he catches sight of her and his eyes harden slightly.

“Jisu, right?” Yoongi says coolly, leaning back and scanning her up and down. She’s glad she double checked her outfit now. Jimin intertwines his arm with Yoongi, hands tangled together. They seem to meld into each other and Jisu can’t help but stare at them and wish she had somebody she fit with like that. It’s something she feels when she sees Somin and BamBam kiss, or when Somin lays with him when they’re watching movies and BamBam puts his head in her lap and she tangles her fingers in his hair. 

It’s something she feels when she sees random couples that scream and chase each other around, or laugh together, sharing food and they are so carefree and they don’t worry that the other person doesn’t really love them. Jisu wishes so much that just one of her relationships would work out, that just one of her crushes returned her feelings. She craves that perfect picture with her other half, and even though her friends aren’t dating, she wants to have someone, a guy, who she’s so comfortable with. Someone she can tell everything to, and not worry about how she’s messing up, or getting too close, or being weird around. Somin and Mirae are her best friends and she does all those things with them, but she just really wants a guy friend. Just someone.

Jackson places a hand on the small of her back lightly and Jisu jumps. Jimin is looking at her expectantly and she feels a rush of panic. “Yes?” She manages to say, wishing her cheeks weren’t most likely bright red at the moment. She presses her hands against them, feeling how hot and flushed they are. Stupid genes, making her look like a tomato whenever something mildly inappropriate or embarrassing or even cute happens.

“I was just saying that we have to go, but I hope I see you around this summer!” Jimin smiles again, looking cute again, and Jisu smiles and waves goodbye as they leave the store. As soon as they’re gone she slides down to the floor and buries her head in her knees. Jackson crouches in front of her, lifting her chin. “Hey, what’s the matter? Didn’t you use to have a crush on him or something?” He asks gently.

Mark sits down beside Jackson, staring at her. Jisu feels like she’s about to cry, which would really be the icing on the cake. A poisoned cake that has too much baking soda or whatever and is really salty. She sniffles and rubs at her nose with her soft sleeve, feeling it tickle her cheek. 

“I did, but I asked him to prom after working up the courage for weeks and he told me that he had a boyfriend….it was so humiliating and I can’t completely get rid of my feelings for him.” Jisu sniffled again, wiping at her cheeks. “Sorry, it’s so lame that I’m crying.” Jackson makes a pouty face, carefully capturing a tear with his thumb. “It’s not lame.” He said. “Sometimes we cry over stupid things, and that’s okay.”

Jisu sucked in a rattling breath and stood up. “Thanks.” She mumbled, even more embarrassed that she had been. Jackson stands up too and Mark follows, though reluctantly. “Let’s just….” She pauses, trying to think of something. Jackson, of course, has the answer. “Go wreck a store? I’m on it!” He shoots off on his G-Wheel and Jisu rolls her eyes, even though she’s secretly glad Jackson has lightened the mood.

“We should go after him.” Mark says, getting on his own G-Wheel and Jisu starts, realizing Jackson is most likely halfway around the mall by now. “Yeah.” She gets on her G-Wheel, pushing off. “That’d be good.”

~

Group Jrae decided to go to the wishing fountain. Mirae watches the coins glitter as Youngjae walks around the edge, arms waving for balance. Jinyoung is texting someone on his phone, looking completely bored, and JB is leaning on his elbows at the edge of the fountain, looking like he’s contemplating something.

“Got any coins?” Mirae finally asked, directing the question at JB. He rummaged in his pocket, drawing out two shiny pennies. “Want to make a wish?” He passed her one and Mirae took it, rubbing her fingers over the texture. It’s warm from being in his pocket, and she finds the fact somewhat reassuring.

I wish that everyone would stop keeping secrets. Mirae tosses the coin in, watching it flip lamely through the air before landing in the water with a tiny splash. It sinks down among the other glittering coins, just another penny that carries a wish. Even as she watches it, the article she had found last night flashes through her head. _Anemia. Symptoms include hemorrhaging, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, cold hands and feet, irregular heartbeat, and pale skin. Happens when there is not enough red blood cells in your body. If it is sickle cell anemia, which has the main symptom of hemorrhaging, it can lead to death two or three years after discovery. ___

__JB throws his in too, and it arches neatly before landing right on the water spout and flying into the air again, floating through the blue water until it rests among a patch of quarters. The coppery glow stands out against the silver, and when Mirae looks back for her penny, she can’t spot it._ _

__“What did you wish for?” Mirae looked up at JB, waiting for his response. JB looked thoughtful again, and she found herself staring at his piercings, the black stake hanging in his earlobe and the hoops farther up. “If I told you, it won’t come true.” He laughs, eyes scrunching up into half moon shapes. Mirae made a face, half heartedly trying to hit him. JB dodges._ _

__“Come on, that’s only something little kids believe in, like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.” Mirae shot back, taking out her ponytail and redoing at, as most of it had already fallen out. JB reached over and yanked it playfully and she actually hit him this time, a karate chop right on the wrist, making him howl and yank his hand back. “Ow!” He glared at her resentfully. “Fine, if that’s something only little kids believe in, why don’t you tell me your wish?”_ _

__Mirae shrugged, but stayed quiet. Something about her wish felt personal, and she knew JB would ask; “What secrets?”, and she had to let the owners of the secrets tell them themselves. Granted, some of the secrets were more like super hunches, but Mirae was a lot more observant than she seemed. Being quiet had it’s perks, she noticed a lot more. Like how Jisu was obviously crushing hard on a certain someone and Youngjae wasn’t just in love with Coco…._ _

__“Thought so.” JB replied, crossing his arms and grinning down at her. Mirae wasn’t that short, she was taller than Jisu at least, being 5’6.5, but JB was still pretty tall. All guys were tall, it was annoying since she wasn’t tiny like Jisu or muscular and lean like Somin. She was just herself. Nothing special, just a regular body shape and no fashion sense. This morning she had thrown on whatever she set eyes on, which was a Kpop is Lifeu t-shirt in black, white jeans with blue splotches, and her regular beat up black high tops covered in sharpie scribbles from when she was bored in science class._ _

__“You know what JB?” Mirae asked, gazing up at him. He lifted an eyebrow and didn’t say anything. “I have decided I am so done with you and your logic that I am going to push you into this fountain.” She told him solemnly and watched as JB’s smile dropped as he processed what she had just said. “Wait…” He started, but Mirae shoved him, which rather resembled trying to move a brick wall. When had JB gotten abs?_ _

__“YAH!” He yelled, steadying himself and trying to flip her simultaneously. Mirae shrieked, splashing up a wave of water onto his sweatshirt and JB leaped backwards like a little girl. Mirae just splashed more water onto him and JB lunged towards the water, trying to force her into it. She banged her head on the fountain spout, yelping, and JB released her. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry…” He reached out, and Mirae used his hesitation to dunk him._ _

__Sputtering, he surfaced and pushed himself out of the fountain that he was submerged halfway in. “I cannot believe you had the audacity to do that!” He tried to look furious, but in reality was dripping wet and looked like he was about to laugh or cry. Mirae couldn’t help but let a giggle slip past her lips and JB’s eyes narrowed. He crossed the short distance between them, hands on her shoulders and eyes gleaming with the possibility of revenge._ _

__He tried to shove her in, but Mirae twisted at the last moment and placed her arm in the fountain to stop the rest of her from following. Turning around, the laughter died in her throat as she realized that JB’s hands were still on her shoulders and she was pressed against the fountain, their faces inches apart. A momentary sense of panic surged through her and Mirae can feels trapped, her heart racing way too fast. So she does the normal thing. She kicks JB in the shins as hard as she can._ _

__JB hops backward, holding his hurt leg and yelling in silent pain. Mirae presses her lips together and gives him an apologetic smile. Her heartbeat slowly returns to regular and it’s really stupid now that she thinks about it. It’s just JB. Except, not anymore it seems. Being around JB is different now and Mirae doesn’t know why. She’s never been good with feelings._ _

__“Has anyone ever told you guys that you’re like an old married couple?” Jinyoung looks at the scene in front of him with distaste, and takes out his earbuds. “Come on, can we actually go to a bookstore or something?” Mirae knows she’s turned bright red, even though it’s more of an insult than a compliment. “Yeah, let me just get Youngjae…..where did he go?” Mirae looks back at the fountain, but is faced with emptiness and only three G-Wheels._ _

__Jinyoung looks like he expected something like this to happen. JB looks like that he knew something like this would happen to him. Mirae is mostly freaking out because last time they lost Youngjae he had somehow stolen a box of puppies and was buying pet food at Petco, which would have been fine except the pet food was for fish. “Oh gosh, we have to find him.” Mirae said, looking around frantically._ _

__“YOUNGJAE!” JB screams at the top of his lungs, earning a few weird stares, but no Youngjae. Honestly, Youngjae was like a five year old who liked to explore and was most likely lost by now. Still, it didn’t hurt to check every store in a ten mile radius, which they did before eventually accepting defeat._ _

__“I’m pretty sure that the food court has an intercom we can use to make an announcement from if Youngjae isn’t already there.” Jinyoung commented as they rode slowly back to the food court. Mirae highly doubts Youngjae has remembered that they are supposed to meet back at the food court. He’s probably in a pet store trying to find a Coco look alike. He also forgot a lot of things that he needed to remember._ _

__Mirae doesn’t mention this to Jinyoung. Let him get his hopes up._ _

__~_ _

__After Youngjae returns and everyone has gathered and commandeered the largest table the food court has to offer, they send JB to place their orders and get their food. He has to write down everything on his hand since nobody has any paper, but Jackson randomly has a pen hidden in his sweatshirt pocket._ _

__The teenager behind the counter is looking at JB expectantly and JB carefully reads off all the orders. He has them written on both hands because there were so many of them. “One coconut bubble tea with two straws, extra large, three mango bubble teas, a raspberry bubble tea, a pineapple bubble tea, two peach bubble teas, a watermelon bubble tea, six count dynamite roll, three japchaes, small, three jajangmyun, a cheese ramen, and a beef ramen.” At least, he’s pretty sure that’s what it says. The writing’s a little smeared._ _

__“Um, could you maybe repeat that?” The teenager asks and JB has never had the urge to strangle someone as strongly as he does now. Actually, that’s a lie, he has had much stronger urges to strangle Yugyeom and BamBam and once actually did try and strangle BamBam, except Somin stopped him from actually killing him._ _

__So he repeats it, slowly, so that the teenager, whose name tag says Jungkook, starts getting pretty annoyed. Well, too bad, because JB is pretty annoyed too. As he’s waiting for their order, which is probably going to take a while since it’s literally seventeen things, his phone rings. Pulling it out, he sees it’s his mom, which means ignoring the call is out of the question._ _

__“Hello?” He asks, leaning against the counter. “Jaebum!” His mother trills and JB feels a flare of annoyance because he’s told his mother again and again that he goes by JB, but she still insists on calling him Jaebum, which is a stupid name that got him teased a lot in elementary school. And middle school and high school. “Do you and your friends have any plans tonight?” She continues._ _

__JB thinks for a moment. “No, I don’t think so.” “Great! Then tonight at six you and your friends are having dinner with your father and I. It’s at Kim’s Pho, remember that old place? Anyway, it will be a great chance for us to meet your friends and make sure they’re not imaginary or anything!” She laughs entirely too high, and JB is reminded of how much he hates his parents._ _

__“Actually, I don’t think we can make it.” JB said in a flat voice. “You just said you didn’t have plans, so you and your nine other friends better be there at six o’clock, punctual, and you will introduce your friends to your father and I.” His mother’s voice is deadly serious and JB feels small, like a little kid who does whatever their parents say. “Okay.” He says, feeling angry at himself for giving in. “I’ve got to go now, see you at six.” He quickly ends the call just as the food and drinks arrive on a huge black tray._ _

__He shoves his phone in his pocket, sliding the tray across the counter to himself, trying to figure out the best way to carry it. He ends up balancing it on his forearms, the edges resting in his elbows, and turns and walks back to the table, which seems way too far away now that he has a loaded tray in his arms._ _

__JB thumped the tray down, rubbing at his aching arms. His friends move to grab their drinks and food quickly so that they don’t topple to the ground. Sitting down besides Mirae and Jinyoung, he contemplates how to tell his friends that they all just got roped into dinner with his parents. Somin and BamBam grab the coconut bubble tea, sticking their straws in it and sharing, all the while staring into each other's eyes. Jisu has the pineapple one, Mirae raspberry, Mark and Jackson taking the peach ones, Yugyeom, Jinyoung, and himself taking the mango ones, and Youngjae taking the lone watermelon one._ _

__The jajangmyun goes to Mirae, Jisu, and Somin, while Mark and Jackson seem to be splitting the dynamite rolls. JB wonders if they’re a couple or just really good friends, most likely the latter since Jackson would have told them if he had a boyfriend, and they also would’ve made out at least once. The japchae goes to Yugyeom, BamBam, and Youngjae. JB takes his cheese ramen, passing Youngjae his beef ramen._ _

__He noticed that Jinyoung hadn’t ordered anything to eat, only a drink. “You didn’t want anything?” JB asked him, sucking in a sip and cringing as the cold smoothie like ice hits his teeth. He really should take slow sips when drinking cold drinks, but he always forgets and his teeth feel the coldness and his brain freezes over. Everytime._ _

__Jinyoung shakes his head, head bent over his bubble tea as he draws in long, slow sips. He’s been quieter today, not making as many savage and snarky remarks as usual. JB’s slightly worried, as he is whenever someone acts out of character, but he hasn’t asked. At least not yet. He knows Jinyoung likes his privacy and he respects that, even if a voice in his head tells him that maybe Jinyoung doesn’t trust him as much anymore. JB always smothers the voice, Jinyoung and Mirae have been his best friends since  
kindergarten, but a nagging feeling in his chest says that maybe the voice is right. _ _

__BamBam is blowing bubbles at Somin, who is catching them in her mouth and giggling, smiling as she keeps accidentally spitting them out. Mark and Jackson are cutting up the sushi, trading parts, and it looks so simple, like it’s something they do all the time. Mark passes the masago to Jackson, who is pushing the avocado bits over to Mark with his chopsticks. Mirae and Jisu are talking and laughing, slurping up noodles. Jisu’s eyes are puffy and red, like she’s been crying, but it’s not something they’ve mentioned, so it can’t have been that important. He’s sure he can get the whole story from Mirae later. Yugyeom is silent across from JB, another uncharacteristic friend. Youngjae keeps poking Yugyeom in the side and talking animatedly, making comical expressions with his face._ _

__“Um, guys?” JB tries, but nobody heard him. “Guys?” He said again. Still no response, even though Mirae and Jinyoung look up briefly, then go back to their lunch when he doesn’t continue. “GUYS.” JB finally raised his voice, feeling his nerves fraying. They stop conversation, looking up. Jisu is mid slurp and bent over her bowl, noodles dangling from her mouth._ _

__“What?” Jackson asked, blinking. “Tonight at six we have to go to dinner with my parents.” JB tells them. Mirae nods and Jinyoung looks vaguely concerned, but everyone else has varying expressions of shock and confusion on their faces. “Um, your parents?” Yugyeom asks, eyebrows knitting together._ _

__JB nods. “You get to met them. Yay!”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND YES, A REGULAR BODY SHAPE IS A THING.


	5. Prove It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a really crappy updater, but in my defense Wanna One blew me away and I was feeling the 2hyun and wrote a whole one shot and published that instead. This chapter is actual trash and a real big thank you to my beta who tried to fix this as best as they could. I'm going on vacation too and I don't know if I'll be able to update before them, so it might be around two weeks before you get another chapter. I'll try of course to have one come out at the end of this week, but that might not happen.

I hug you tightly so we can be closer  
So we can’t be apart  
I hope we can be closer to each other  
I hope that you understand my heart  
~Prove It, GOT7

Yugyeom is unsure if he needed to dress up for dinner, so he decides on a pair of unripped black jeans, a black turtleneck that melts into dark burgundy, and his black lace up combat boots. He showers quickly, washing his hair and flattening it over his eyes so it isn’t sticking in a billion directions. He puts in plain silver hoops, even though JB’s parents must be used to strange piercings since JB has so many of them. 

“Hurry up!” JB hollers from the entryway in Jackson’s apartment. Yugyeom checks himself one more time before hurrying out to where the others were gathering. He bumps into Mark, who was exiting Jackson’s room across the hall. Mark ducked his head quickly, mumbling mianhae as he slipped past. Yugyeom pursed his lips, watching him go. Mark was extremely quiet and they basically knew nothing about him except that he was Jackson’s friend from America. Yugyeom wasn’t sure if he trusted him yet.

Somin was wearing a light blue dress that wrapped around her neck and flounced around her knees, the sash glittering with gold. Her sandals were showing off her toenails again, and she had on a worn ankle bracelet, frayed friendship threads woven together. Her elbow was crooked through BamBam, who was dressed in silky black pants and a jacket with a black and white striped turtleneck tucked in, the cuffs peeking out from the jacket sleeves. A cute white flower was pinned instead of a lapel and he had swept his hair up so it fell over his eyes rakishly.

It seemed that everyone had gotten the silent memo to dress up when meeting JB’s parents. Mirae had put on a plain white blouse and a black skirt that fell to her knees, rippling when she moved, and a pair of plain black flats. Since she never were any other shoes besides her high tops, this was a miracle unto itself. Jisu had put on a light pink dress that shimmered with shades of loose silver, longer in the back with a train of pink, her black wedges strapping over her feet. She was making Mirae do her hair in a bun, fidgeting back and forth.

JB himself was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white button down dress shirt, tucked in properly. He had on a dark blue suit jacket and tie to match, and had his hair straight and silky looking like he had conditioned really recently. Jackson had on an oversized black sweater on and black jeans with his black and white tennis shoes, but Yugyeom knew it was the thought that counted. Mark was wearing a black bomber over a plain white t-shirt and dark jeans, his leather tennis shoes looking brand new. Jinyoung had on navy cutoff dress pants, a black t-shirt, and a high collared light wool black jacket, his hair parted on either side.

Youngjae was another story, as he always seemed to be. He had on his tan boots and black jeans with a plain black t-shirt, seeming simple enough, until you noticed his puffy red jacket and gray scarf hanging loosely around his neck. He was yanking on his signature wide brimmed black hat, trying to convince JB to put on his fisherman hat so they could match. JB was vehemently denying. 

“It’s 5:42.” Mirae announced and JB’s head snapped up. “We have to go!” He yelped, hurriedly walking out the door. “Does it really matter if we’re a couple minutes late?” Jisu called after him. “My hair’s not ready yet!” “Who cares about hair?” JB yelled back, then stuck his head back inside. “Come on, if we’re late and my mother murders me, I am going to haunt you from my grave.”

“Okay, okay! We’re coming!” Mirae finished Jisu’s bun and handed her a extra hair tie. They all clambered out the door and down to the parking lot where they boarded Jackson’s car once again. Yugyeom was not looking forward to having to ride in Jackson’s tiny car for the third time that day, he was so tall that his legs couldn’t stretch the tiniest bit and always had to climb way into the back. Annoying and uncomfortable. Also, too much touching was involved, as he was crammed between BamBam and Somin, and whenever he moved the tiniest bit their shoulders and thighs made contact.

After everyone was situated and as comfortable as they could be, which wasn’t very comfortable, they set off. It was still light outside, but the inside of the car felt dark. Yugyeom could see JB fidgeting nervously as Mirae whispered to him reassuringly. Mirae and Jinyoung were the only ones who had actually met JB’s parents before, and Yugyeom was really curious about what the big deal was. Were they super strict or what?

His own parents had been kind but distant, given that his father had a job that required him to travel a lot, and his mother was a teacher at a prestigious college. 

Whenever they were all home together, they tried to eat together, and his mother always made sure to ask him about school and dance, but it always had the awkward air around it, like they weren’t really sure if they were doing the right thing. 

“Damn, it’s six!” JB cursed and Jisu squealed, covering her hands with her ears, and Mirae slapped him. “No cursing!” “We have children in the car!” Jackson yelled, gesturing back to where Yugyeom, BamBam, and Somin were sitting. BamBam was trying not to laugh, but he finally did, covering his mouth with his hands and slowly falling over, his head landing in Yugyeom’s lap. Yugyeom really wanted to touch his hair, but instead he stiffened up and tried not to breath as Somin poked BamBam’s cheeks.

“Chill, we’re here.” Youngjae announced, pulling slowly into a parking spot. Fun fact, Youngjae was an extremely slow and careful driver because he hadn’t gotten his license until two months ago. They didn’t usually let Youngjae drive, but since Jackson had used up his driving privileges for the day, and nobody else wanted to drive or knew how to get there except for BamBam and he didn’t have a license, the task had fallen to an eager Youngjae. 

“Move!” JB ordered, wringing his hands and looking way more stressed than anyone should when having a nice dinner with their parents and friends. Kim’s Pho was a nice sit down restaurant with high black tables, plush stools, and punctual waiters.  
At the entrance, right by the glass doors, a tall woman with pursed lips, black hair pulled back into a severe bun, and a charcoal dress set and jacket stood besides a shorter man with hair that was so gelled it looked like a wig, wearing a navy blue suit with shiny shoes and glasses that made his eyes look sharp.

“Jaebum!” The woman trilled and Yugyeom tried not to start laughing. Everytime he heard JB’s real name he always had the urge to laugh, because it was just so funny. Mrs. Im pulled her son into a hug and Yugyeom didn’t miss how tense JB was, never relaxing into her arms. His father coughed, pushing open the doors and motioning them in. 

Once inside they were escorted to a large table in the nearly empty restaurant. THey arranged themselves so that it went BamBam, Somin, Yugyeom, and Youngjae on one side, across from Mrs. Im and Mr. Im, JB, and Jinyoung. Mirae and Jisu were sitting at the head, facing Mark and Jackson at the other end.

“So, why don’t your friends introduce themselves?” Mrs. Im asked perkily after they had placed their orders. JB nodded. “Jackson, you can start.” He said, since Jinyoung was already acquainted with his parents. “Hello, I am Jackson Wang, the wild and sexy.” Jackson flashed a peace sign and Yugyeom could see JB mentally facepalm. Mr. Im raised his eyebrows. “The wild and...sexy?” He inquired.

“I’m from Hong Kong.” Jackson explained. “Ah.” Mrs. Im had the polite expression on her face that meant she did not approve of Jackson, but would be civil nonetheless. Mark cleared his throat. “I’m Mark Tuan.” “You have an accent, are you from somewhere else?” Mrs. Im asked. Mark nodded. “I was born in L.A. and just recently came back to Korea after spending a year studying abroad in America.”

Yugyeom can see the instant approval on JB’s parents face, won over by Mark’s seemingly easy charm. Somin was next and said; “Nice to meet you, I am Jung Somin, the happy virus of our group!” She wiggled two fingers by each of her eyes cutely, grinning widely. “Oh, I feel like I’m meeting an idol group.” Mr. Im added, shaking his head slightly.

“I’m Kunpimook Bhuwakul…,” BamBam started, then laughed at seeing the expression on the Im’s faces. “Don’t worry, I’m Thai so that’s why I have such a long name. You can just call me BamBam.” “Haha!” Mrs. Im laughed, but it sounded so fake to Yugyeom that he didn’t join in when everyone else laughed too.

“Annyeonghaseyo, I am Kim Yugyeom, the maknae of the group.” It was true, Yugyeom was six months younger than BamBam, and a month or so younger than Somin, which was kind of weird since he was the tallest and the strongest of the group. He tried not to squirm as he felt everyone looking at him expectantly, like waiting for him to continue.

Youngjae broke the awkward silence with his naturally loud voice. “I am Choi-Young-Jae!” He hit the table with his hand on each syllable, causing everyone to jump and Mrs. Im to place a hand over her heart. “The 4D character with extra cheese and pepperoni, but not sausage because that does not belong on a pizza!” 

“Oh, how...different.” Mrs. Im looked slightly miffed, but Youngjae grinned broadly under the rim of his hat and for once Yugyeom is glad for how 4D Youngjae is. He can always lighten the mood, even if it’s in the weirdest way possible.  
Jisu ducked her head at JB’s parents. “Hi, I’m Park Jisu.” She says in a soft voice, most likely feeling pressured to say something memorable after Youngjae’s performance. “I’m an aspiring artist.” “Are you one of those starving artist types whose parents kicked them out of the house?” Mr. Im leaned toward her, adjusting his glasses. Jisu’s mouth opens, but she looks genuinely stunned. Jackson looks like he wants to rip Mr. Im’s fake hair off his head.

“Well….no? I have a job at a cafe and am attending Korea National University of Arts in the fall, studying fine art.” Jisu responded, face brightening as she gets on the topic of art. Yugyeom can’t really draw, but he does specialize in dance and can understand how excited Jisu gets about her talent. “Hmmm.” Mrs. Im doesn’t look impressed and Jisu’s smile fades as she sits back, slouching.

“Neoui eumsig junbi dwaesseo~”(Your food is ready) A pretty Korean lady slid their bowls across the table to the respective orderers, head bowed. “Kamsahamnida!” They recited, Jinyoung passing around the chopsticks. Yugyeom stirred his ra bokki, using his spoon to take out the egg, which was the only part he didn’t like, and placing it on the shallow dish. Blowing on the noodles, he slurped them up and tried not to leap backwards at the initial spicy hotness.

BamBam looked at Yugyeom’s meal in distaste. “Ugh, how can you eat that? It’s so spicy.” “Because your man doo ramen is so much better.” Yugyeom replied, stabbing one of BamBam’s dumplings and shoving it into his mouth quickly before BamBam could hit his chopsticks and reclaim it. “Yah! I only had two dumplings to begin with!” BamBam screeched. “How would you feel if I stole your food?”

Yugyeom smirked around his chewing. “You won’t steal my food because it’s way too spicy for you.” BamBam threw his chopsticks down on the table. “Dang, you’re right.” He sighed in defeat, chewing his other dumpling dejectedly.  
“So, BamBam, JB told me you are an idol?” Mrs. Im pursed her bright lips and tilted her head. BamBam looked like he had been caught mid bite and could only nod as he finished his dumpling and swallowed. “Yes, I just debuted as a solo artist in January after training for a couple years.”

“How interesting. Do you have any plans for the future?” Mr. Im asked. BamBam dabbed at his mouth with his napkin, looking slightly cornered. “Well…” He started cautiously, glancing around. “They’re planning on debuting me with a boy group in autumn.” Yugyeom stopped mid slurp, hardly aware of the noodles dangling from his mouth. _A boy group? _“What?” Somin said aloud, a dead silence falling upon the table.__

__“But, if you debut with a boy group, aren’t you not allowed to have a relationship?” Mrs. Im said innocently, eyes flicking over to where Somin was stealing a piece of pickled radish. Yugyeom hated her condescending tone, how he could see BamBam freezing and Somin becomes alert even though her eyes were lowered. “Yes, I would not be allowed to be in a relationship until three years after my debut.” BamBam responded._ _

__“Are you allowed to date now, as a solo artist?” BamBam licked his lips nervously, glancing around the table nervously. “Not exactly.” He said, shifting on his stool. Yugyeom frowned, twirling noodles idly around his chopsticks. Somin was poking at a sticky rice cake in her soup, but he could see her cheeks reddening._ _

__Mrs. Im smiled. “Isn’t that a problem for you though?” BamBam laughed nervously. “Of course not. I’m not involved with anyone at the moment.” Somin looked like the air had been knocked out of her lungs. Yugyeom nearly dropped his chopsticks. Not involved with anyone at the moment? Somin and BamBam were dating. They had been for two years. What was BamBam talking about?_ _

__“I see.” Mr. Im nodded, turning to JB, who had been silent the whole meal. “Jaebum, you have some very polite friends. Good futures planned out, all of them. I can tell.” JB nodded, smiling even though it looked like it pained him. Mrs. Im leaned around her husband to face her son. “Speaking of the future, are you still pursuing your silly music and producing dreams?”_ _

__JB’s knuckles whitened as his grip tightened. “Yes mother, and they’re not silly.” Yugyeom had no idea what music dreams they were talking about, and then realized how little he really knew about JB. All those nights alone in his apartment, what did he do when he wasn’t hanging out with them? Did he know anything about any of his friends?_ _

__His mother tsked. “Jaebum, you need to do something about your life. Become a lawyer, or a doctor, something that matters. The arts are going to get you nowhere in life except on the streets.” JB looked downcast, almost defeated, and Yugyeom tried not to throw a chopstick at him and yell ‘speak up’._ _

__Mr. Im smiled at the silent table. “My, you are a quiet group.” “I’m not quiet.” Jackson said, spearing a piece of meat from the grill and chewing it, keeping eye contact with Mr. Im. Yugyeom wondered if Jackson was always this awkward around parents, or if it was just the way he acted. Or maybe he just had no idea he wasn’t supposed to be so direct. “We’re trying to be polite.” Jackson added around a mouthful of meat. Yugyeom saw Mirae cringe out of the corner of his eye at Jackson’s manners._ _

__“Do the rest of you have plans?” Mrs. Im seemed to have stopped chiding JB and now directed her sharp gaze around the table. Nobody seemed eager to speak up, so she zeroed in on Youngjae, who had not lowered his gaze and was eating cheerfully. “What about you?” Youngjae swallowed and nodded._ _

__“I’m actually going overseas for college, to Canada.” He responded, smiling widely. “I plan on becoming a veterinarian and am studying at one of the best reserves there is in the world.” Yugyeom isn’t quite sure what studying at a reserve means, even though Youngjae has explained it to them dozens of times. All he knows is that Youngjae is going to be gone for four years with only skype and facetime and texting to keep them connected._ _

__Mrs. Im made an approving sound. “That sounds like a good choice. If only others would try and follow a path like yours instead of going after fanciful dreams.” “What are you trying to say?” Jisu cuts in, looking every bit done with Mrs. Im at the moment. Mirae placed a hand on her shoulder, widening her eyes, but Jisu shook it off, folding her hands in front of her and continuing to look at Mrs. Im._ _

__“What I mean is that I don’t believe that art and dancing and being an idol even,” Her gaze flicked to BamBam for a quick second. “Will get you anywhere. It might be nice as a side hobby, but it has no purpose. We need a strong economy and system where everyone contributes. In all honesty art does not fit into our country at the moment. We are obsessed with beauty and idols and good looking people, but all that will eventually crumble. We should start destroying it know so it cannot destroy us later.” She jabbed a finger in the air with each word in the last sentence, eyes gleaming._ _

__Yugyeom had to admit it sort of made sense, in some twisted hated way, but Jisu looked ready to fight and Mirae seemed to have given up trying to stop her. “With all respect, which isn’t a lot,” Jisu began and Yugyeom could see how JB was looking at her like; shut up right now, but she was on a roll. “I think the arts are a much needed part of this world so it doesn’t become the bland place people like you want to make it. The arts are supposed to feed people’s imagination, invent, discover new things, and provide a different perspective. It’s like a hidden world, like the undiscovered part of the universe.”_ _

__Jisu looked far away, like she was seeing the stars and dancing among them. “I personally feel that we need more art in this world. It is helping us greatly and I find it sad that you can’t see that.”_ _

__Mrs. Im was tight lipped, Mr. Im looked like he was watching a drama, and JB looked like he thought he was dead. “I’m guessing you’re one of those girls obsessed with finding true love.” Mrs. Im’s voice was sickeningly sweet and Jisu looked taken aback. Yugyeom was unsure what direction this was going in._ _

__“I do think that we can fix anything, even if it’s not exactly like it was before. I also do want to find love eventually and think that everyone deserves to have that special someone.” Jisu said carefully, gauging if she had said the right thing by the expression on Mrs. Im’s face, which had the cat who had found the mouse or ate the canary sort of look._ _

__“Well I do hope you find someone who can put up with your ranting and unattractive beliefs then, dear. Personally, I am positive that you will end up a starving artist, or something of the start, even if you aren’t at the moment. If love eventually finds you, good look trying to keep it. It will be very hard to keep a man with that personality.” Jisu had a struck expression on her face and for someone reason Mrs. Im’s words grated at Yugyeom, like she was speaking to him. If you fall in love, you’ll have a very hard time keeping it. Hard to keep someone with who you are. The words could be so easily twisted to be thrown at him, and Yugyeom found himself putting down his chopsticks with a clatter._ _

__Everyone turned to look at him, but Yugyeom’s eyes were fixed on Mrs. Im. “It’s rather hypocritical of you to be talking about that, don't you think? You’re talking about love, but have you ever actually felt it? Do you even know how awful you are? It’s honestly no wonder that your son hates you.” It was a low blow and Yugyeom knew it, he could see JB’s gaze darken. Jinyoung gasped quietly, making a cutting motion across his throat to try and make Yugyeom shut up, but Yugyeom felt like he was cracking into a million pieces._ _

__“I’ll have you know that love is a lot harder to manage, and you can’t try and keep it if it’s not worth it.” He probably wasn’t making much sense, he had lost the original point he wanted to make, but he felt like he had to keep talking. “Also, everyone here is a much better person then you will ever be and I hope every single one of my friends finds love. In ten years, see us again. We'll see if we turned out how you thought or how I know everyone here is going to end up; successful and happy.”_ _

__Mr. Im spoke up for the first time in several minutes. “Young man, you say you know everyone will be successful and happy, but love is blinding you. Do you honestly think you are going to end up happy if your friends are happy?” He smiled coldly and Yugyeom froze, his heart pounding. He was bluffing, Yugyeom knew he wasn’t that see through. He had hid it so well, someone he just met couldn’t uncover it just like that. He tried to remember how to breath. Mr. Im was bluffing, trying to dig at him. Nothing more. He didn’t know anything about what Yugyeom felt. He couldn’t know. He couldn’t._ _

__“What?” Somin sounded concerned, looking around BamBam to see Yugyeom. “Yugyeom?” JB stood up abruptly. “I’m sorry, mother, father, but we have to leave now. Thank you for the meal.” He addressed his parents, then turned to the confused group. “Come on guys, let’s go. It’s pretty late.” “Oh, Jaebum, we’re not done eating or chatting!” Mrs. Im said in her false high voice, smiling prettily._ _

__JB glared down at her. “Call me later mother, we can talk then.” He stormed out of the restaurant, which was a little extreme because Yugyeom didn’t remember him speaking up. Mirae was the first to follow JB, bowing politely and pulling Jisu off her stool and wrapping an arm around her comfortingly._ _

__Jinyoung quickly got up to follow, Mark and Jackson, getting up two, the only three who had been unscathed by JB’s parents blows. “Bye.” Somin told the Im’s flatly, exiting the door without waiting for BamBam and Yugyeom. Yugyeom got up two, waiting for BamBam to leave before looking one last time at Mr. Im who simply smiled. “Good luck on your love quest.” He told Yugyeom and Yugyeom wanted to punch him, to slap him, but instead he bowed and left._ _

__~_ _

__The car was stony silent. Youngjae was crammed in the back with the maknae line, who were all pointedly avoiding each other. Somin wasn’t sitting next to BamBam, she was obviously upset, looking out the window so nobody could see her eyes watering. What BamBam had said wasn’t right, and even though it might have been to protect Somin from the Im’s, it had inadvertently hurt her._ _

__Jisu was shaking with anger and Mirae’s eyes were piercing into JB. Youngjae couldn’t believe that nobody had spoken up for Jisu, that it had had to be Yugyeom of all people to save her. Jisu and Yugyeom weren’t even that close, it should have been Jackson to speak up, but he hadn’t. JB should have controlled his parents, stood up to them, why had he let them talk down his friends right in front of him? On the other hand, why had he let them belittle himself too?_ _

__Jackson was talking on the phone quietly, the only noise in the car, but Youngjae still couldn’t make out what he was saying as his hand was cupped over his mouth and he was speaking in a low tone. Mark was driving, even though Youngjae had volunteered to do it again. Jinyoung had snapped at him and said he and JB were such slow drivers that they couldn’t be allowed to drive at all and should get a ‘slowpoke ticket’ instead of a ‘speeding ticket’._ _

__“Okay!” Jackson said loudly, putting his phone down. Jinyoung started in front of Youngjae and Somin quickly swiped at her eyes. Youngjae pretended not to have noticed either actions, since Jinyoung was apparently not scared of anything and Somin never cried. “We’re making a pit stop at the apartment, in which you will need to pack whatever you need for a week.”_ _

__“Wae?” Mirae asked, sitting forward. Jackson smiled. “So glad you asked. Well here’s the answer, we are going to my friend’s beach house so that we can resolve whatever it is you guys are not saying right now. Five days, the ultimate package. An amusement park, right by the ocean, a pool in the backyard, ice cream, and so much more! A low starting price of $5.99, all expenses paid except for two, and relaxation, tanning, and fun in the sun! Come today and have the best summer of your life!” He swept an arm around at all of them._ _

__“Did you read that off the website?” Jinyoung sounded bored out of his mind, and looked half asleep. Jackson glanced at him all high and mightily. “I made that up, for your information.” Mark laughed, looking back at them. “He spent five minutes looking that up and reciting it before pretending he was ending the call to talk to you guys, even though he had actually ended the call ten minutes earlier. You guys just couldn’t hear him.”_ _

__Jackson gasped in mock betrayal. “Mark, I said; don’t say anything. How could you betray me like this?” Mark shrugged, turning to face the road again. “Anyway, who wants to drive the three hours it takes to get to the beach?” Jackson asked eagerly, looking around. “Because if nobody wants to, I can always….” “NOOOOOOOOO!” Jisu screeched, so loudly that Youngjae pushed his hat down to cover his ears._ _

__“I’ll drive.” JB half raised his hands, looking like he had know that he would eventually have to drive. Jackson clapped his hands together. “Great! Now prepare for the best five days of your life!”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friends and I talk randomly in Korean sometimes, so you might see that in the story. Again, I'm sorry this was trashy and doesn't make sense and JB's parents are awful.


	6. Come Back to Me part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, I'm the most crappiest updater in the world. Thankfully this had barely any editing and I got it done quickly and was like, let's publish this. This one was the long part of my Come Back to Me chapter (which makes me think of Infinite which makes me think of Hoya LIKE WHY) but the second part is shorter but kind of fluffy I guess....Anyway I was checking this and I have like eight subscribers on this so I hope all you guys enjoy this! There's more on MarkJin (for that one person who commented that they were waiting for them I hope this might appease you a little)(and I had to change their birth dates to fit their ages in my story as they would be in 2017 if that makes sense)  
> And yes, I finally found the secret for making everything italized and working but I don't want to edit the rest of the chapters again so yeah.  
> Comment your thoughts and leave lots of kudos!

I didn’t even know myself,  
listen to me  
If we grow apart like this, I’ll go crazy  
I’ll be honest now,  
I can’t see anyone but you  
I hope it’s not too late, come back to me  
~Come Back to Me, GOT7

Jinyoung claimed shotgun as soon as they reached the car, elbowing Jackson in the ribs to dive into the seat. JB was driving, and not the worst companion to have during the supposed three hour journey that would most likely turn into a five hour journey because some people could just not hold it. Actually, JB was the best companion to have besides Jinyoung. He always had been.

 

 _In kindergarten, Jinyoung had been stuck at the same bus stop as two other kids, one boy who lived next door and one girl who lived across the street. Neither of them had talked to him, the girl had been reading a book and then gotten on the bus and sat in the very front, putting her backpack besides her so Jinyoung couldn’t sit down. He had had to sit next a huge scary fifth grader who had leered at him and said a bunch of things that, when Jinyoung repeated them to his mother, got him into a lot of trouble._

_The boy and girl were in his class, there was only one kindergarten class because the school was so small. Jinyoung learned that the girl was Kang Mirae and the boy was Im Jaebum. He tried to sit next to Jaebum, but Jaebum shoved him out of his chair after Jinyoung called him Jaebum, and Jinyoung learned he was not in fact Jaebum, but JB._

_During recess he had sat on the swings and swung alone until he noticed that some older bigger kindergarteners holding Mirae’s book above her head and teasing her. JB had strode over and demanded that they give it back, except they started hitting JB on the head with the book. The teachers were laughing and chatting about ‘how cute those children playing around were’, but Jinyoung had decided JB was most likely going to get a head wound, so he went over and took the book, kicked them in their areas, and got in trouble._

_Mirae, JB, and he were inseparable from then on and grew up together hanging at each others houses and drinking endless amounts of Yakuruto. Middle school was bigger than elementary, and Mirae managed to get her locker jammed once a day. They stayed together and Jinyoung and JB finally met Jisu and Somin, Mirae’s friends from somewhere over the rainbow. When Jinyoung got asked to formal and bluntly turned her down, they laugh about it and tease him and they all go together and sit in the corner eating food and playing cards._

_They end up going to different high schools and maybe that’s when it really starts, Mirae and JB going to Yeongdong high school; Jinyoung to a remote one and he feels them slowly growing apart. They’re still better friends with each other than they are with the others, but they’ve changed. Jisu introduced them to Jackson and Mirae introduced them to Youngjae, who was her lab partner._

_Then Jinyoung’s mom walked out on him and his sick younger sister dies because he has no money and he can’t get her any treatment, no matter how hard he tries. Things fall apart and Jinyoung cuts himself off. His friends are worried, he can tell, but he hates himself. When the Thai nerd comes to school, Jinyoung sees himself years ago and he relishes in the feeling of cold power and people who will do anything for him._

_Mirae and JB drop by his house, but Jinyoung always pretends he isn’t there. They text still and he lets them force him into hanging out and having dinner occasionally, but he’s different, distant, cold. But Mark comes and he can barely speak Korean and something about him makes Jinyoung feel different._

_“Hey.” Jinyoung doesn’t expect Mark to actually be brave enough to utter a word to them, but he does, and instead of continuing on like he usually does, Jinyoung stops and turns around. Mark is standing, head tilted and hands in his pocket, a couple of feet behind them. Jinyoung raised his eyebrows and walked back towards him until they’re inches apart._

_“Can I come along?” Mark asked and the English was foreign to Jinyoung, but he’d heard Jackson speak it enough to know what it meant. Jinyoung nodded and walked back and then Mark was part of the group. He was different than the rest of his ‘friends’, but Jinyoung has always considered him as a real friend. Before BamBam comes, at least._

_Betrayal stings the most and Jinyoung is so tired of being beat up and trampled on that he enacts vicious revenge. Maybe he’s trying to heal his broken heart too, but he cries bitterly alone. He turns back to his old friends and they welcome him and Jinyoung finds comfort in JB and Mirae, who have sort of turned into a couple, and he gets over it._

_Soon he finds out how much he’s missed and even though he leaves out junior year, he tells them everything else and it gets easier. Jinyoung unfurls his petals slowly but surely, and then BamBam is introduced to the group. He isn’t sure how to act, but after late nights, Jinyoung and BamBam finally resolve their conflicts, and Jinyoung wishes desperately that BamBam sees how he’s changed._

_Senior year goes by smoothly and their group is complete, all nine of them doing the most randomest, wildest things. Summer was supposed to be just them before they all go off the different colleges, but Mark comes back and his world flips upside down. Jinyoung finds it easier to just ignore Mark, but he can see that Mark is terrified of him and he hates it. He hates Mark, but he hates himself more, and he hates how he wasn’t a good enough friend for his friends._

_Life goes on, but Jinyoung isn’t sure how long that’s going to last._

 

“Yah, since you’re shotgun, pull up google maps. I have no idea where I’m going.” JB said, tapping Jinyoung’s leg, keeping his eyes trained on the road. Jinyoung mumbled a response, pulling up google maps and typing in the address. The car is still deadly silent and the lady’s voice is super loud and annoying, and doesn’t help at all. In fact, it makes things much more awkward.

“Silence,” Jackson speaks, shifting from where he’s squeezed between Jisu and Mark. Jinyoung peers back at him through the rearview mirror and wonders where he’s going with this. “Is a lovely thing when you are taking a test, but not in a car with the chattiest people alive. Of course, the chattiest person is me, but I can call you all honorable mentions. So can we discuss those awesome disses and roasts at dinner or what?” Jackson really has no filter and Jinyoung prepares himself mentally for the explosion to come.

Unsurprisingly, the first blow come from Somin’s mouth. “You mean the disses that they were throwing at us? Because, sure, let’s talk about how confused and hurt I am.” She turned to BamBam, kind of hard to do since she was crammed beside BamBam without any space in the back.. 

“What? We’re not in a relationship? Oh sorry, _you’re_ not in a relationship. I’m in a one sided one apparently. Do you know how humiliating that was?! It was so obvious we were together and to have you say that there’s nothing….We’ve been dating for two years and I really thought we were past that part of the relationship. I don’t even know what to say, I’m just so shocked and confused and really upset now.” Somin sounded really close to tears and BamBam looked at a loss for words.

Jisu twisted around to face the maknae line in the back. “Let’s start with the ‘you’re debuting with a boy group in the fall’ part.” BamBam’s shoulders tense and he glares at her. “It’s just something we’re considering. Besides, diverting all this attention to me when you’re just as much as fault here as I am…”

“What?!” Jisu half laughs in protest, but her eyes are almost wild. “I’m at fault?! I’m defending what I love, and let’s remember that nobody stood up for me! What were you all doing why I was being put down again and again? Because you certainly weren’t at the dinner table, since I know you would’ve said something.”

She waits for a beat, chest heaving, and looks around at them. Jinyoung looks around quickly, avoiding her gaze. “You would’ve, wouldn’t you?” She sounds unsure now and Jinyoung doesn’t respond, even though the others are whispering condolences to her even as she shoves them away.

_He’s always been a coward. Back in high school he had people who called themselves his friends, and would do anything for him, but eventually she all left when he showed them he wasn’t as strong as they thought. He didn’t fight for his own fights, they did it for him, and when he was too scared to face Mark on his own, he sent them out too._

Jinyoung shook himself. He had been thinking about Mark too much lately. “And JB!” JB jolted, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “They’re your parents, nice of you to step in.” Jisu continues, apparently already over her crying phase. “All of you guys, just sitting there, and Yugyeom has to be the one to defend me?”

Yugyeom glanced up and Jisu made a placating gesture. “No offense, but I’m not as close with you as other people.” Jinyoung snorted quietly. Understatement of the century; everyone knew Jisu sort of hated Yugyeom. “I don’t know what is going on with us right now at all and I’m just super confused.” Jisu ran a hand through her hair, shaking it out of its bun. 

 

“Look,” BamBam finally said. “I was just trying to protect you Somin. That woman was an animal…” “DO NOT call my mother an animal.” JB said in a seething voice. Mark raised his eyebrows. “Oh come on, I don’t know how you stood her for, what, nineteen years? You’re not a minor anymore, why are you still giving in?” Jinyoung privately thought that Mark was right, but since he’d only been in Korea for a couple days, he wasn’t really in a position to criticize JB or his choices.

“Look, I’m your hyung, so don’t you disrespect me or my parents.” JB said in as calm of a voice as he could manage. “Oh yeah? When’s your birthday?” Mark asked nonchalantly. “January 6th, 1999.” JB responded. Mark smirked. “September 4th.” He paused, grinning. “1998.” Jackson groaned. “Man, I always forget you’re older than me.” Mark flicked him. 

BamBam and Somin were continuing their conversation in the back. “Somin, I love you, and I don’t want you to be subjected to that world. It’s harsh and cruel, and reporters will pick you apart. I want our relationship to be private and safe.” He was talking in a low, soft voice, and the whole scene was strangely intimate, him holding her hands loosely in his grasp, and Jinyoung looked back, but kept listening. Intimate as it might be, everyone else in the car was wondering how this would turn out also. All other conversations had paused.

Somin pursed her lips, slowly freeing her hands and folding them in her lap. “That may be true now, BamBam, but what about when you debut?” “I might not debut, it’s just something they’re considering.” BamBam sounded frustrated, like it was something he’d had to explain several times. Jinyoung had only heard it around three times, nothing like when he had to repeat directions to his sleepy table partner in first period Math class at least ten times every day.

“When you debut, are you just going to end us? You said yourself you wouldn’t be allowed to be in a relationship for three years at least, where does that leave us? Are we just going to be over? Am I going to be become some sort….some sort of,” Somin was choking on her words. “Dirty secret? A scandal? You can’t just drop a bomb on me like this and expect me to just take it in hand.”

BamBam raked a hand through his hair. “I did not expect you to take it in hand. I was planning on telling you later, when we had alone time, but she just basically cornered me and I had to say something. Don’t you understand? Debut won’t be for another couple months…”

Yugyeom cuts in, and his eyes are sharp like glass. “Do you really expect her to wait three years for you after you debut? To keep what has been so open a secret for three years and then have it blow up?” He crosses his arms and tilts his head. “Don’t be so selfish.” BamBam’s eyes glitter like chips of ice and he leans in, his words ghosting over Yugyeom’s ear and Jinyoung barely catches them. “You, of all people, should not be accusing me of being selfish.” His voice is low and dangerous.

JB swerves sharply, pulling into a lit up gas station. “I need to fill up the tank if we want to make it all the way to the beach without breaking down and having to hail a truck that a murderer is driving. Then we would have to deal with a murderer driving us into the wilderness, killing us, and dumping the bodies.” Mirae shivered. “Gosh, now I’m going to be seeing people in the shadows all night long. Thanks a lot JB.”

He shrugged. “It’s not my fault you have a vivid imagination and you use it a lot, especially when watching your murder dramas. You guys can go get food and use the restroom while I get gas. If you’re not back in fifteen, I’m leaving without you.” Jackson leaned forward. “You can’t leave without us, it’s my van!” He exclaimed indignantly. JB made a; well too bad gesture. “Get out. Fifteen minutes.”

Grumbling, they slid out, the maknaes throwing themselves over the seat. There was this one awkward moment when Youngjae landed on top of Somin, but they all managed to get out eventually. Jinyoung took longer getting out, waiting for everyone to be streaming towards the glass doors of the convenience store before opening his door.

As he walked around the front of the car, JB rolled down his window and leaned out, his elbow resting on the glass. “Yah, Jinyoung!” Jinyoung paused and looked back. “What?” JB smiled. “Can you pretty please buy me a Novelty Ice Lolly? Vanilla flavored.” He made a pleading face. Jinyoung raised his eyebrows. “Why would I do that?” JB coughed slightly into his fist. “Because I am driving the three hours it takes to get down to the beach.”

Jinyoung wrinkled his nose. “Fine.” He turned to leave, but JB called out for him one more time. “Oh, and tell them they suck at fighting. There was barely any yelling or conflict.” Jinyoung rolled his eyes slowly. “Do I have to?” “I’ll pay you for buying me food.” JB offered, plastering on a smile.

Jinyoung saluted him. “Will do.”

~

Jackson heads toward the snack aisle as soon as they get inside the empty convenience store. He was starving, as he had barely eaten anything at that place. He felt like a bottomless pit, a black hole in his stomach needing to be fed.  
He grabbed bags of random stuff, anything that looked good, and opened one and started eating immediately. So what if he hadn’t paid? Nobody was working at the register anyways. As he crunched noisily on the chips, a water bottle bounced off the top of his head. Jackson dropped half the things he was holding to protect his head from further attacks, slowly turning around.

Jisu glared at him. “Do you even have money to pay for all those things you are oh so casually taking a snack from?” She demanded, hair swinging over her shoulder as she put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. Jackson bit his lip guiltily. “Um, I’m gonna have to say _no_.” She rolled her eyes. “Then why are you eating?”

Jackson paused, a chip dangling from his mouth. “Because I’m hungry.” He mumbled around a mouthful of crunchy crumbs. Jisu huffed, stomping her foot childishly. “Fine, but at least pass me some.” She held out her hand and Jackson stared at it, then up at her, then down at her hand again. “Why would I do that?” He questioned.

“Just give me that.” Jisu reached forward, somehow crossing the distance between them in a single second. Jackson leaped backward, holding the half empty bag high above his head to prevent her from reaching them, except he kind of sort of banged into the shelf he was standing by and that sort of fell over. The resounding crash was loud and crunchy, most likely because of the bags of crunchy things that had just been smashed on the unfortunate side that had met the ground shelf first.

Jackson cringed, Jisu throwing up her arms and tripping back against his chest. She grabbed his arm, clutching it as they both stared wide eyed at the wreckage. Jackson could already hear Mirae yelling that he better not have broken something. Fat chance of that. He looked at the wreckage, then looked over at the empty register. Hopefully whoever was supposed to be there stayed on break for a long while.

“Okay, you just had to go and do that.” Mark jumped over a pile of scattered smashed candy, walking lightly like it was hot lava. He glanced meaningfully up at Jackson, who stepped away and crossed his arms angrily. “Don’t look at me like that! It could have been Jisu’s fault!” Mark eyed Jisu. “She doesn’t weigh enough to knock over an entire shelf.” Jackson gasped in outrage. “Are you calling me…?”

“Ani.” Mark replied, though a smile tugged at his lips. Jackson narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. Somin, BamBam, and Yugyeom appeared from the bathroom area, peering at the wreckage, and Mirae managed to shove her way through the mess with a bottled lemonade and caramel macchiato, both which she passed to Jisu. Jinyoung stared at the mess on the floor, the almost shattered display of drinks and ruined food.

“That was the shelf that had the Ice Lollies on it.” He grumbled, looking like he was torn between something. “So?” Jackson asked. “Nobody but JB eats those things...oh, I get it now.” He said after seeing Jinyoung give him a look that made him feel like a total idiot. Jinyoung had that effect on people.

“Just go climb under there and get it.” Mirae suggested. “Or not get it at all.” Somin added. Jinyoung shook his head. “I promised JB, and he’s driving anyways. Come on, Mirae you get it and I’ll hold up the shelf for you.” Mirae set down her lemonade and walked over with him. “How do I know you won’t drop it on me?” Jackson heard her ask as Jinyoung flexed, then proceeded to try and pick up the metal rack.

He finally gave up and blew sweaty bangs off his forehead, turning to the group that was watching in amusement as he strained. “Jackson, Yugyeom, come help me.” “What about us?” Youngjae appeared from around a corner, cheerfully sucking on a lollipop. Jisu frowned at him. “Where do you appear to from? I swear, it’s like you just come from thin air at the randomest times…” She continued to mutter to herself as Jinyoung crossly replied; “None of you guys are strong, no offense.”

“That’s totally offensive.” Somin told him. “I’ve played soccer for over a decade, and you’re calling me not strong?” “Maybe he just needs arm strength.” BamBam patted her shoulder comfortingly, but Somin threw it off and glared at him, affronted. “Are you saying I have no arm strength now?”

BamBam’s mouth opened in astonishment. “No, I just meant that you have stronger legs than arms, since you kick the ball and stuff.” He waved his arm lamely in the air. Somin looked at him, unamused. Jackson decided that they weren’t entirely made up and so he should maybe stop watching them. He went over to help Jinyoung, who had been yelling for him for the past minute.

The metal rack was very heavy, and Jackson had to use more strength than he usually did to heave it up, even with the help of Yugyeom at the top and Jinyoung on the other side. Mirae scrambled underneath as soon as it was up enough for her to fit and expertly found a non crushed ice lollie, sliding out and wrinkling her nose at all the smushed food. “Gosh, this is disgusting.” She muttered, avoiding looking at it. Jackson thought food was food and it looked delicious smashed, but everyone had their own opinions.

Youngjae looked around at the mess and toppled food stacks. “We shouldn’t let all this go to waste.” He observed. Jisu glanced at him cautiously, having resumed leaning against Jackson. The weight of her was comforting, and her head fit just under his chin, soft strands of hair tickling his bare neck and collarbone. “We can’t eat it all.” 

Youngjae grinned mischievously. “That’s not what I meant.” Then, quick as a whip, he grabbed a crumpled water bottle, twisted off the cap, and tossed out the water through the air. Jisu screamed as it showered down on her and Jackson flinched as it hit his face, forgetting to close his eyes. 

Slowly, he wiped it away from his eyes, and saw Youngjae holding his breath, anticipating his response. Jackson smirked, grabbing a bag of chips, and crushing them in his hand, letting the sound draw out. “I hope you like orange.” He said, and then turned and dumped the crush Cheetos on Yugyeom’s head. Yugyeom stared at him, shocked, for a split second, and then an all out war happened.

Teams were formed without anyone asking, Jisu, Mirae, and Somin were one, with Jackson and Mark teaming up immediately, BamBam and Yugyeom getting shoved into each other, and Youngjae grabbing Jinyoung’s arm. Jinyoung looked like he wanted to leave the store, but with a smiling ball of happiness attached to his arm, it was physically impossible.

Jackson wasn’t upset that he wasn’t teamed up with Jisu, okay, maybe a little, but it was definitely more fun going against her. Mark poked his stomach. “Shopping cart.” He whispered, and Jackson looked over at the bright red grocery cart. “I call shotgun.” He yelped, bounding over and diving into it quickly. Mark ran after him, getting squirted at with ice cream as he went. Who knew that ice cream came in frosting squirters? You discovered something new every day.

Mark started pushing him. “Just grab random things from the shelf and throw them at anyone you see.” He yelled, nearly mowing down Somin, who squeaked and fell against a rack, nearly toppling it, but just caught on the edge of the wall and stayed leaning dangerously like that. Jackson yanked down random bags and drinks, ripped them open and threw them in the air hoping they land on someone. Some land in his mouth, which is totally an accident but really well planned anyway.

Somewhere along the way Jisu jumps from around a corner and dumps a frappuccino on him, and Mark accidentally hits the wall and overturns the cart, so that Jackson spills out and lands halfway on top of Jisu. She’s still laughing, and her eyes glow at she looks up at him and Jackson feels himself smile in return before he rolls off and throws gummy bears at her. She catches every single one in her mouth and they sit cross legged, just grinning at each other like that. Then Jinyoung sprays both of them with cheese and says grumpily; “I hope I interrupted something.”

Jackson throws a gummy bear at him, but of course Jinyoung catches it, chewing slowly and deliberately. Mark is resetting the shopping cart and grabbing a bunch of things and opening them, a look in his eye that Jackson doesn’t like and certainly doesn’t like with all those ingredients go toppling over his head. He wonders if he looks too peaceful and that’s why everyone is targeting him. He should try the angry look.

Somin manages to leap over the tall metal rack beside them and throws half the things at BamBam and Yugyeom, who slip and manage to crash into each other and topple Youngjae. The rack leaning dangerously falls and they all just manage to dive out of the way and land in a big heap next to Jackson and Jisu. They are a huge laughing mess and Jackson is pretty sure his clothes aren’t salvageable, but he doesn’t care at the moment. It’s just him and his friends and they just trashed a convenience store. Well, minus JB that is.

Mirae and Jinyoung are laughing about their idiotic friends, both untouched, and Jackson half heartedly tries to throw something at them. Mark is sitting in the shopping cart drinking a lemonade that looked suspiciously like the one that had ended up on Jackson’s sweatshirt earlier. Even though all the lemonades looked the same, that wasn’t the point. You can never trust your friends.

They were having such a fun time that nobody heard the jangling of the door opening and they didn’t see the angry red faced man until he was looming right above them. The laughter died in Jackson’s face and there was a moment of complete and utter silence before; “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY STORE?! I’M CALLING THE POLICE!” 

“That is our cue to leave ladies.” Jackson said, standing up. “Ladies?” Yugyeom echoed. “Stay right there.” The cashier commanded, pointing a finger trembling in rage at them. He looked around. “You are staying here until the police get here…” “Nope.” Youngjae replied, patting the man’s arm kindly. “Don’t worry, it’ll work out for you. Let’s go.” He said, walking towards the door. They cautiously edged after him, keeping all eyes on the man, who looked like he was figuring out what had just happened.

“Hey, you can’t leave!” He exclaimed suddenly, whipping around the face them. “RUN!” Somin screamed, tearing ahead and banging out the door, which hit BamBam in the face as he tried to follow. “STAY RIGHT THERE! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!” The cashier screamed, grabbing a broom and rifle and running after them. Jackson, the last person out, yelled something he was not proud of and put on the speed.

JB was carefully paying for the gas when they shot out and he looked up, eyes flicking around desperately as he tried to comprehend what was going on. Somin threw open the van doors and dived in, everyone else piling in. Jackson slammed the door shut, screeching in a high voice; “Get in the car and GO GOGOGOGOGOGOGO!!!” JB had a petrified expression on his face.

“Please put your seatbelts on.” He said in a strained voice, carefully maneuvering out of the lot. Police cars were pulling up and the store owner banged his broom at them, hitting the windshield. Hairline cracks split through it. Youngjae gulped next to him. “Could you please hurry it up?” He asked, leg jiggling nervously.

JB sighed and calmly replied; “The speed limit is 50, I do not want a ticket.” “You’re literally going at 20 miles!” Jisu screamed, losing it. “Move over, I’m driving now!” She thrust herself into the front seat, shoving JB aside and grabbing the wheel. “What..NO...you can’t!” JB yelled, fighting for control, but she had flattened him against the window and was pressing down on the gas pedal. Jinyoung watched in amusement from the passenger seat. 

The car vroomed at an unearthly speed down the highway, Jisu nearly turning them sideways as she dodged two police cars. “Omoomomomomo, we’re going to get in a car crash.” Mirae had her hands over her eyes, fingers parted, and she kept squeezing her eyes shut.

“For someone who hates my driving, you drive like a beast yourself.” Jackson observed. “Dude, your driving is way different than this.” Mark told him, leaning around Youngjae, who was holding onto his hat. Jackson sniffed indignantly. “Not that different!” Jinyoung coughed from the front seat. “Oh sure. By the way, I forgot to get your ice lollie JB.” He added casually.

“You had ONE JOB….” JB started. “Do not even go there.” Somin yelled from the backseat, where they had plenty of space since there was only three people back there. Jisu relaxed and slowly climbed back into her seat. JB grabbed the wheel, breathing hard like he had just run a marathon. He soothingly petted the wheel, and Jackson was pretty sure he heard him whisper; “Oh precious wheel, I’m so sorry I let her touch you, you’ll be okay.” Which was pretty weird because it was Jackson’s car.

Jinyoung leaned back, checking google maps. “About an hour and half until civilization and the beach!” He announced. There was a limp cheer from the car occupants, who were all sticky and covered in junk food and spilled drink. It smelled like a total carnival, but Jackson had more important issues to take care of.

“Hey, guys?” He asked, crossing his legs. “WHAT.” JB said in complete done with the world annoyance. Jackson shifted and tried not to look guilty.  
“I have to go to the bathroom.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I hope that maybe I'll put the second part up soon but school has started again so yeah. Comment theories or questions down below and leave kudos! Also, if you like Produce 101 you should read my other fanfictions and five them lots of love too! (Shamelessly promoting myself)


	7. Come Back to Me, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later than I wanted of course, but I'm going to try to make Saturdays my updating days since I watch kdramas and youtube during the week because school makes me not want to do more work. This is very short but it's fluffy and nice and hopefully it makes you happy because the beach trip, most of it is not exactly pretty. I mean, there are some parts *raises eyebrows and smiles deviously* but I spoil nothing. Either I'll update next Saturday or in two weeks because BTS is coming and that's all I need to say. (Turn Up looks lit though, but no Jackson so that means no Markson unit *sobs*)  
> Kudos and comments please! (We reached 20 kudos but um, my other ones have 50 or more to so please send lots of love this fanfiction deserves a lot)

It was early in the a.m. of the morning when they finally reached the beach house. Somin is too energized to have fallen asleep after they pulled over at the side of the road and made Jackson go do his business behind a tree. Most of the others had dozed off, though she can see the dim light from Mirae’s phone and Mark keeps shifting his shoulder to keep Jackson’s head propped up. Somin would find that cute, if it wasn’t totally ruining one of her OTPs.

“Wake everyone up.” JB says, looking at them in the rearview mirror. Somin gently pokes the top of BamBam’s hair, he has his head in her lap and Yugyeom is leaning against him, like dominoes. He stirs, and she reaches over him to slap Yugyeom lightly across the cheek. He jerks awake almost immediately, sitting up and patting down his hair, looking flustered. BamBam, awoken by the movement, sits up sleepily, his hair sticking straight up even though he’s only been asleep for a maximum of two hours.

Everyone is groggy, stumbling out of the car like zombies. Cool night air that smells like salt hits Somin’s face and she breathes in deeply, relishing the feel of being back near the water. Jackson is fumbling with the key which he has found under the mat, Jisu trying to help him unlock it but both of them failing until Mark comes and easily turns it. 

Somin is sad to go inside so quickly, but she just grabs her duffel and backpack from the trunk, passing out other bags to their respective owners. The inside of the house is dark and she stands in the doorway, waiting for the others ahead of her to find a lightswitch. It’s silent, moonlight filtering in the windows and the open door their only light.

Then Jinyoung screams. Someone finds a light switch as the shrieks spread, people hopping on the floor. Somin stood petrified, unsure of what was happening and if it was going to get her next, whatever it was. The light spread through the house, blinding Somin momentarily and she shields her eyes with a hand, peering around at the house.

It’s a nice house, a large mahogany dining table with enough chairs for all of them, the kitchen shining with cleanliness, a living room with a large TV and a sofa right in front of the kitchen. It resembles Jackson’s apartment back home, but bigger and older, with more worn floorboards and a more homey feel that’s unlike the mess of their own apartments, though not the dorms because Mirae had a habit of picking up random things.

The unknown object is, in fact, two kittens and one very large cat that has latched onto JB’s leg and was chewing it as he patted its head affectionately, chuckling. Jinyoung sneezed, eyes watering. “Why are there cats here?” He managed, words muffled by his sleeve that he was using to cover his face as well as he could. 

Jackson had that look on his face that meant he was really hoping they wouldn’t be mad. “I could rent this house on two conditions. One was that we watch my friends cats for the whole time and the other thing is that they couldn’t get a sub for this morning so we have to deliver the newspapers too.”

Jinyoung sneezed again. “I’m allergic to cats.” “Newspapers?” Mirae echoed. Jackson shrugged and ran over to the twisting set of stairs. “Any rooming arrangement ideas?” He called, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “We’re rooming.” Jisu grabbed Mirae and Somin and pulled them over. Somin nodded.

BamBam pouted. “You don’t want to room with me?” Somin glanced at him incredulously. “We’ve been over this, I’m not risking sleeping in the same one with you and your perverted thoughts.” BamBam scrunched up his nose. “And how many times do I have to say I have no idea what these thoughts you’re talking about are?”

Jackson poked his head back down the stairs. “You don’t have to pretend, we all know the truth.” JB cleared his throat. “Um, we were going over rooming arrangements. How many rooms are there?” Jackson counted on his fingers. “Four. So, maknae line can room together, the girls can have one, JB and Jinyoung, me and Mark. Also, I locked the car, so y’all better have your bags.”

“You’re not Southern.” Jisu chided as Youngjae frantically looked around, patting himself down. “Oh no!” He wailed. “What?” Jinyoung asked, sounding mildly annoyed, which was really his set tone. “I left Coco in the car!” Youngjae exclaimed. “Coco?” Mirae turned around slowly to stare at Youngjae, who was already racing out the door with Jackson hurrying after him, unlocking the car with a giant sigh.

He returned a minute later with a backpack, a white doggy head poking out of the top and panting happily. “Coco does not like cats.” Youngjae added casually as he let Coco out, who immediately starting sniffing and running in circles around the kittens and cat. “Well then you shouldn’t have brought him.” Jackson said crossly. Youngjae looked up at him, an outraged expression on his face. “We can’t leave Coco in the house!” He exclaimed in bad English and Jackson placed a hand on his forehead. “Let’s just get   
situated and then go to sleep, we have a day of early rising ahead of us!”

“It’s already that day.” JB grumbled, trudging up the stairs with Jinyoung on his heels. Driving must really take a lot out of a person, not that Somin would know since she had lost her license a couple months ago since she was driving ‘unsafely’. It wasn’t her fault that BamBam and Yugyeom almost made her get in a car crash!

Somin walked up the stairs and tried not to slip in her socks. The wood was shiny and new and perfect for sliding on, which also meant perfect for slipping on and then tumbling down a flight of stairs. They found a room with three beds situated in a semi circle against the back wall, Mirae choosing the one in a corner by a window and Jisu the other one, leaving Somin to have the bed turned sideways to fit in the section of wall between the other two beds, which were both facing forwards. She was totally going to roll out of it, she just knew it. There was like no space.

“Guys, I’m going for a swim.” Somin announced, sorting through her suitcase until she found her blue bikini. She had spotted a pool in the back and it looked very relaxing, pale aqua waters splashing against the cement sides. Why people needed a pool when they were a stone's throw from the ocean was beyond Somin, but at least she got to swim without worrying about an undertow, salty water in her mouth, a shark killing her as Mirae feared, or a wave sweeping over her just when she came up for oxygen.

Jisu mumbled a response, already half asleep even though she was still in her clothes. Mirae was changing, her back to Somin, and she just tossed out an ‘okay’, before exiting to go to the bathroom with her toiletries. Somin changed quickly, forgetting to grab a towel until she was out in the hallway and having to come back and get an evil glare from Jisu who valued her sleep more than anyone. 

It was quiet when Somin finally crept downstairs and she found herself tiptoeing, trying not to wake anyone up. They had all settled down pretty quickly, seeing as they had all been hyper about ten minutes ago, but considering they had been crammed in a car for half the night and had a pretty intense dinner, it wasn’t all that surprising. 

The french doors leading out to the pool patio were unlocked and Somin slipped out easily. The night air had chilled slightly, but it was still warm enough to raise goosebumps on her skin. Somin clutched her towel against her chest and walked over to the lounge door closer to her, glad she hadn’t worn her flip flops. Every sound seemed to be magnified a thousand times and her flip flops were very noisy. Somin carefully set her towel down and walked over to the water.

She dipped her toes in and watched the water ripple out from the edge, shivering at the feeling. It was the perfect temperature and Somin quickly dived in, using wide strokes to propel herself through the water. It was like cutting through air, smooth silk against her skin. The water parted easily to her will and Somin tucked herself in a ball, bouncing against the opposite wall and pushing off to start her journey back.

There was something calming about doing laps. Eventually she settled into the rhythm, the water a background roar in her ears, the only sound when she surfaced and gasped in a breath before continuing on. Time slipped through her fingers and she started growing tired after what had been at least an hour. Finishing the lap she was one, Somin popped out of the water on the other side and prepared to get out when BamBam’s face appeared before her eyes.

Shrieking, Somin splashed backward and gulped a mouthful of chlorine, choking when she surfaced, hair plastered across her face and goggles somewhere that was most likely the bottom of the pool. They had already snapped at least five times, but were probably broken for good this time. She could just leave them there, goggles were cheap and easily replaceable at least.

BamBam smiled at her, crouching by the edge of the pool and shifting to avoid the water she had sent over the sides. “Can I help you out?” He asked, extending a hand. He was still in his clothes from the dinner, though his shirt had come untucked in the front and he had ditched his pointed shoes and was wearing polka dotted socks that had to be Yugyeom’s, there was no way BamBam owned anything quite like those socks. Most of his socks were black, white, or strangely enough, pink.

Somin nodded, grabbing his arm and preparing to help him heft her up, except BamBam was not strong. So when he tried to pull her up, he instead fell forward, socks slipping on the wet cement. He made an astounding crash when he hit the water, Somin letting go and half jumping half paddling away to avoid being hit by what she liked to call ‘a falling wall’. 

He popped up almost immediately, spitting out water and shoving hair that was a dark red when wet out of his eyes, rubbing at those eyes to clear them. “You could have helped me.” He accused, swimming to the side and trying to pull himself out, but he kept slipping. Somin giggled, covering her mouth to prevent herself from full out laughing. BamBam resembled a drenched cat when wet, especially when he was in his clothes and wet, if you didn’t get that before.

“Just come over here.” Somin said, still laughing as she pulled him over to the deep end, beneath the diving board. BamBam madly treaded water, turning in circles. “I am ruining my clothes at this very moment, have you no respect for fashion?” He snapped, though he grinned halfway through the sentence so Somin knew he wasn’t really mad.

She hummed in response, idly floating on her back. “Are we going to talk?” She asked, dipping her head backward to look at BamBam, hair floating softly through the water. It felt good. BamBam tried to float, but ended up flailing. “We already did talk.” “We fought.” Somin corrected, diving down and resurfacing. “This is our last summer before college, don’t you want to do something with it?”

BamBam glanced at her in surprise. “Is that what you want to talk about?” “You get the meaning.” Somin replied, looking him straight in the eye. BamBam nodded, trying to touch the diving board but only succeeding in flopping back in the water like a fish. “I already said that I was sorry.” He was doing the thing where he avoided meeting her eyes, which frustrated Somin to no end because she couldn’t tell if he actually meant his words or if they were empty words meant to comfort and calm her.

“Can you look at me?” She asked softly, swimming over to him and treading water so that they were only a couple of inches apart. “I am.” BamBam replied in the same tone, his dark eyes serious as they held hers. Somin pressed her lips together. “What matters more to you? Your career? Or me?” Her heart was heavy. BamBam was at a loss for words and he slowly swam in a circle. 

“Of course I love you.” He whispered, swimming back and hugging her. His touch made her bare skin tingle and she leaned into him, but he hadn’t answered the question. “And whatever happens after summer, we’ll figure it out together.” He added, his lips brushing her ear. Somin bit her lip and nodded, but she had a feeling that wasn’t how it was going to work out.

“Can I kiss you?” BamBam pulled back, his voice still low. Somin smiled and that was all he needed, because a second later he had pushed her up against the wall and was kissing her hungrily. Somin felt the ladder pressing into her back and she shifted so she was sitting on the top rung and BamBam could balance on the bottom, his arms around her waist and her legs around his waist.

She could taste too salty chlorine on his lips, droplets from his hair falling on her fingertips. And in that moment, he was all she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and if you comment I'll love you forever!!!! I love comments, they give me enrgy (make me feel so energetic) I should be updating JBJ (my other fanfiction that I has multiple chapters, go read it and my Nu'est one shots!) late on today if you read that!  
> Again, kudos and comments please (tried to figure out how to spell that in Korean but I couldn't so Englishu it is)


	8. Nice, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really long so I had to split it into three parts instead of just two, just letting you guys know. This chapter is sort of fluffy with a little bittersweetness but you know the rest, at least the third part is going to be ************************************. I actually think I have a problem all my stories have so much bad angsty depressing stuff in them I can't write pure fluff but I try sometimes, I really do.

You’re so dazzling,   
You’re so beautiful  
I never get tired of looking at you,  
I’ve fallen for you  
I can’t imagine being without you for a second  
I think I’m addicted to you  
~Nice, GOT7

Youngjae was shaken awake at the ripe hour of 3 a.m. by a way too energetic Jackson. At first it was a little much to process, aka it was 3 a.m. and he didn’t wake up until seven on normal weekends. “Wha…” He mumbled groggily, sitting up and falling out of bed where he lay on the ground, staring up at Jackson. 

“Newspaper delivery time!” Jackson clapped his hands, bouncing around like a jumping bean. “Wae?” Youngjae pushed himself off the floor and reached blindly into his suitcase, pulling on a random t-shirt and jeans, grabbing what he was pretty sure was a jacket and trying to brush his hair as Jackson yanked him out of the room and shoved him towards the stairs. 

Youngjae heard him hitting Yugyeom and BamBam and screeching at the top of his lungs, the equivalent to banging pots and pans. It even made Youngjae cover his ears. Jinyoung was texting on his phone and Jisu was balancing on the rail, trying to see if she could slide down it, but she kept falling off. Somin was falling asleep on Mirae, who kept snapping her fingers at her to keep her awake. JB had his fisherman shoved on over his ears and eyes, in a very interesting outfit that consisted of bright blue, and   
Youngjae meant bright, sweatpants, and a big black zip up hoodie. 

Deciding that he should probably check what he was wearing, Youngjae looked down and saw that he had thrown on a bright pink long sleeved sweater shirt with a white dog that resembled Coco on it and jeans with huge rips over the knees, which explained why he had had a little bit of trouble getting them on. His jacket was actually a black scarf, which Youngjae wound around his neck. 

“Okay, now that we’re all up, let’s go downstairs and I’ll brief you.” Jackson said, literally dragging BamBam and Yugyeom by their arms. “Don’t know why all the maknaes are so tired, but I suggest they wake up.” He added, kicking Somin in the shin as he moved to the stairs. Somin jerked awake, kicking out as a reflex though it was a little slow. She instead caught Mark, who nearly tripped down the stairs, but caught the railing just in time. Youngjae pretended not to notice how Jinyoung leapt away from him almost as soon as Mark’s hand touched the railing beside him.

They trudged downstairs and Mirae dug up a box of doughnut from the freezer and popping them in the microwave, something almost certainly not healthy but still delicious even it they were a little melty. Youngjae had a big mouth after all, it was relatively simple to just shove the whole thing in to prevent any dripping messes. 

“Everyone, grab a partner!” Jackson yelled suddenly and through a rush of panic there was flurry to grab the person nearest to them. Youngjae found himself attaching to Jisu as Jackson held Mark in a vise like grip, BamBam and Somin melded together easily, Mirae and JB giggling as they fell over each other in a hurry to pair up. “Yugyeom, Jinyoung, that leaves you two to be together.” Jackson pointed at the unhappy pair, who slid a little closer to each other than normal, looking at each other distrustfully. Jinyoung had never particularly liked Yugyeom or BamBam, though it was more like a playful hatred, as in the maknaes annoyed him, they didn’t really appreciate being paired up.

“So we have bikes outside with a large satchel of newspapers for each one. Someone can steer the bike and the other person needs to perch on the back and throw out the newspapers to every house. We can make it a competition in fact. We can split up the neighborhood and whoever finishes and gets back first can decide where we’re going first.” Jackson exclaimed in a hurried tone, still bouncing on the balls of his heels.

Youngjae exchanged an awkward glance with Jisu. “How about I steer?” He asked, turning it into a question. Jisu nodded, cheeks reddish. “I don’t have very good aim.” She added with a sheepish smile. “Mine’s most likely worse.” Youngjae started to say, but Jackson threw open the doors and yelled something about how the race was on, dragging Mark by the arm, who was looking like he wished he had a different partner.

“We can’t lose. I made a bet with Somin and Mirae.” Jisu told him as they ran outside, Youngjae getting violently shoved into the doorframe by the before mentioned Somin. For such a slim girl, she was unnaturally strong. He was almost positive he heard his back crack, which was extremely bad for his health. Worse than the doughnuts had been for his health even.

They got stuck with a bright pink bike because they had been so slow to move and Somin had nearly killed Youngjae. It even had those little plastic streamer things on the ends of the handles and those hard seats with the princess face on it. Worst of all, it was clearly made for adults and that was just embarrassing. Youngjae, almost an adult himself, would not have been caught dead on one of those. (Even if it was pretty nice looking considering Youngjae’s taste.) 

Yet he found himself standing it up and rolling it onto the street, looking around carefully. Jisu was heaving the newspaper bag over, huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf. It was cool considering the weather back home, but Youngjae still rolled up his sleeves. Jackson had left a crudely drawn map on the bike, depicting where their area was. It looked short, but Youngjae had a sinking feeling in his stomach that it would take much longer than originally predicted.

“Okay. Get on, I’ll pass you the bag, then I’ll get on and take it back and we can start. I hope you know where you’re going.” Jisu combed her fingers through her hair, pushing it off of her face. Youngjae couldn’t help but notice that they were color coding, she also had on a pink shirt except her’s was short sleeved and oversized and again most likely Jackson’s. She had a lot of Jackson’s clothes, but then again, Jackson had a lot of clothes.

Obediently, Youngjae mounted the bike, which was weirdly built like it was meant to seat him. Minus the fact that his butt was going to be sore and aching from the stupid plastic princess face cover on the banana seat. Jisu stumbled while trying to heft the bag and managed to throw it at him so that it almost slid off and Youngjae almost fell off the bike trying to catch it. He succeeded, in case the trying part threw anyone off.

Jisu climbed on behind him, trying to balance and situating herself on the tiny grill over the back wheel. “For once I’m glad that I’m tiny, or else I would be super terrified that I would fall off.” She laughed. “Hand me the bag and I’ll figure out how to throw them as we go. Somin just texted me a video of her screaming and showing a half empty bag, so we need to get moving.” Youngjae wasn’t competitive, but he understood why people liked winning. One time he had lost a game and had to dye his hair green   
for a year. Not that he hadn’t totally rocked that green, but it just hadn’t been that great of a color, like a limp cabbage, and the initial shock of looking the mirror and seeing it had never really worn off.

Youngjae passed her the bag and waited until it was resting against his back to start off pedaling. He turned a corner and found the street, which was a feat to be accomplished considering that Jackson had atrocious handwriting and he had to slow down to read the signs.

“Start now!” He yelled back to Jisu, who nodded, a look of set determination on her face. The first newspaper she tried to threw hit Youngjae in the face and then the lawn, and the other one missed the driveway by several feet, but she eventually fell into a rhythm with the side to side tossing. Youngjae steered and felt the wind on his face and her body against him when they were jostled.

Jisu had been his crush for over a year, but he still hadn’t confessed. He was content watching her from a distance, or for now, a couple inches apart. He had long accepted that he was never going to be never one, so he could only hope to remain good friends with all his crushes. His only crush actually. So Youngjae treasured silent moments of alone time with Jisu like now, but he enjoyed seeing her happy when her face was lit up and shining with a smile that could melt ice, even if the smile wasn’t for him. 

“Ah!” Jisu screeched as Youngjae took a corner a little too sharp and they spilled out onto the grass of a lawn, the bike spinning off into the air, well, at least a wheel of it. The newspapers caught in a tree, one smacking Youngjae in the face as they fell. His knees were skinned and the palms of his hands, stinging from the gravel.

He rolled over in the grass and groaned, staring at the destroyed bike. At least they had been almost done with their route, and they were sort of close to the beach house. Jisu was lying on her side, hair falling over her face. She had grass stains on her jeans and a couple stray leaves tangled in her hair, but otherwise looked fine. The newspapers on the other hand were absolutely stuck and some looked shredded.

Jisu’s phone buzzed. “Mirae’s wondering where we are. They just got back and everyone else was already there except for us.” She sighed, letting the phone drop from her hand onto the grass. Youngjae shrugged as best as he could being sideways on the grass. “What was the bet anyways?” “Nothing.” Jisu yelped quickly, rolling over to stare up at the sky. Youngjae followed her gaze, looking at the white fluffy clouds. The sky was clear and perfect. He hoped they went to the beach later.

“Why? Was it something about guys?” He asked innocently, glancing over to see Jisu’s cheeks flaming. “What? No! Why would we make a bet about something like that?” She answered, words running together. Youngjae didn’t mention that since girls talked so much about boys and teased each other about it that it was likely they would make a bet about something like that. He just wondered what it was.

“Hmm, we really shouldn’t be laying on someone’s lawn.” Jisu said, tracing a languid circle in the air. “But the grass is so nice.” Youngjae mumbled, feeling the fluffiness beneath him like a bed. His knees had stopped hurting and he had the palms of his hands pressed into the grass, which was cold and still slightly dewy against them. The whole scene; green grass, white house, blue sky, fluffy clouds, reminded him of a picture book, or a scene from a move. Their lives were movies, if you really thought about it.

Youngjae vaguely heard a creaking noise, but he didn’t think much of it until an old lady screeched; “What are you doing on my lawn? Get off! You better not have ruined my flowers...are those my newspapers?!” Youngjae scrambled up so quickly that he hurt his hands again. Jisu took a longer time getting up, stretching and glancing over slowly. An old lady in a bathrobe with curlers in her hair was pointing at them with a watering can, with every gesture water sprayed over the grass.

“We’re just leaving ma’am.” Jisu bowed so fast that Youngjae barely saw it, then turned around, grabbed Youngjae’s wrist, and dragged him down the street. She didn’t stop until they had turned a corner, letting go of his wrist that was now slowly turning red, and leaning against the street sign. 

Youngjae glared at her. “It will be fine if we’re just laying around on someone’s lawn you said.” He said accusingly. Jisu sniffed. “No, I said that we really shouldn’t be laying on someone’s lawn, but you said that grass was so nice.” Youngjae huffed at her, crossing his arms. “You also broke my wrist.” He added. Jisu sighed tiredly. “If your wrist was broken you would be crying and unable to move it.” She explained. Youngjae had broken his wrist before, a failed lab experiment when he had totally been   
listening to Mirae (he hadn’t, and had instead added more of one thing to make it look cool, but it exploded, he slipped, and BAM! Broken wrist.) And he knew it could actually hurt a lot.

“We should probably go back and get the bike.” Youngjae peeked around the corner, spotting the bike still lying in the churned grass. “I think we should leave it. It’s missing a wheel anyways.” Jisu put her hands up, glancing at him. Youngjae rubbed his invisible beard thoughtfully. “Leave it we shall.” He said in his best Yoda voice, he was so good at English that he was able to talk like Yoda in a perfect imitation.

Jisu had the look of ‘trying not to cringe so hard’ on her face. Maybe she wasn’t a fan of Star Wars. There were always going to be those people, after all. They started walking, until Youngjae realized he had lost the map and then they searched for it, couldn’t find it, and finally made it back after both their phones had lost battery and it was so hot that Youngjae considered stripping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> R.I.P. Youngjae. I love writing Youngjae but you might notice that he doesn't have a lot of parts because he's not as main but he actually is a revolving part of the story he just doesn't get a lot of screentime sorry Youngjae stans.  
> Please comment and send kudos because writing this makes me feel so lonely like I never know what people think so jabel jabel jabel (BLACK6IX rocks check them out)


	9. Nice, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2! A little more serious but still good. Everyone, who is excited for Turn Up? And 7 for 7? LIKE TWO COMEBACKS WHATTTTTTTTTTTTT  
> Okay, 9 subscribers, happy update. Please leave kudos and comments! We're almost 2/3s of the way through with this...

Jackson spread the map out on the dining room table, standing with his hands spread out on it like a war meeting. “So, we have our choices.” He announced, staring at every single one of them. Jisu shifted in her seat, her thighs were already sticking to the wooden chair, and the house was air conditioned. 

“We have the beach, right down this street. There’s the amusement park on the boardwalk, an ice cream shop that has the best ice cream in the world on main street. We got some nice parties going on for a late night if we want to and, of course, high quality shopping.” “No shopping, please. We went yesterday.” Yugyeom interjected with a groan.

BamBam gasped in shocked exaggeration. “You can never shop too much.” “Until you run out of money.” Mirae threw out, one earbud in so that she looked like she was listening but was really having a private jam to her music. “I have an infinite supply of money, as I’m rich.” BamBam examined his fingernails, as if deciding which color to paint them. “Betting on you….” JB and Mirae sang in a soft unison.

“Back to our order of business.” Jackson said imperiously. “Where are we going today? Let’s vote by going around the table starting from Somin.” Somin’s head jerked up in surprise and Jisu caught her sliding her phone under her leg quickly out of her peripheral vision. She had probably been texting one of her old friends, or all the maknaes had been secretly texting each other under the table. With her friends the possibilities were endless.

“Um, so I’ll vote…” She scanned the map quickly, eyes flitting over the sharpied names over spots. “The beach?” She squinted at Jackson’s messy handwriting uncertainly and Jackson added a tally mark next to it, pointing to BamBam who sat beside her. “Amusement park.” BamBam was blatantly using his phone in front of him, legs kicked up so Jisu had a nice view of the dusty bottoms of his boots.

“Ah, put your phone away while talking to your Hyung.” Jackson made a halfhearted effort to swat the phone away from BamBam, but he just lifted his hand up and widened his eyes at Jackson, slipping it away quickly. Jisu saw him get it out after Jackson turned to Yugyeom though and she could practically hear Jackson’s sigh of defeat. “I want ice cream.” Yugyeom said, smiling cutely at the prospect of sweet things. He was only about a half year younger than Jisu, but she still considered the whole maknae   
line children.

“Beach.” Youngjae said, doing a little cheering dance. “Beach.” Jinyoung raised his hand halfway to show his vote, eyes focused on his phone also. Half the time he hung out with them, Jinyoung was on his phone, but that was just his antisocial self. “Can we just stay here?” JB asked, making sad eyes at Jackson, who shook his head. “You have to pick.” He demanded, slamming his fist down on the table.

JB jumped back. “Fine.” Venom dripped from his tone. “Let’s go eat yummy ice cream.” He said, obviously a random pick since JB was in a grumpy mood. Mirae’s shoulders drooped. “I guess we can go to the ice cream shop.” She looked like she didn’t really want to go anywhere else and the ice cream shop was the least likely to be awful place. 

Jackson’s finger fell on Jisu, who immediately said; “Beach.” She missed the ocean and the saltiness of it. Water hadn’t always been her friend, she was an earthbender according to an Avatar quiz, but she had always liked the beach. Mirae hated how the sand got everywhere and never came out until weeks after you got back to the beach, or how dry sand stuck to her wet skin, but that was just one of her pet peeves; dry things on wet things or vice versa.

“And finally, the deciding vote, Mark.” Jackson changed to his English accent on the name and Jisu savored how different Mark sounded on his tongue, different than the Korean tone. She had tried to learn English just to understand what Jackson would say when he spoke it, but while Youngjae stuck to it and tried so hard and didn’t take the hint that he really couldn’t speak English, she eventually took Chinese instead. After all, most of her friends also spoke Chinese so it was better if she understood their private conversations.

Mark looked startled, now that all attention was on him. Jackson stared down at him, his face saying; _you better make the right decision Mark._ Mark gulped and fiddled with the cuffs of his overlong sleeves nervously. Jisu thought Mark was rather cute and shy, and when he spoke Korean it was just adorable. Jisu had a thing for Koreans who spoke English and found that very attractive as well as eyebrows, but that was another story. For instance, one of her exes, one of the ones that ended on a more angry note that involved a vase, a window, and a her car, Vernon had lived in America and she had been totally in love with him all of freshman year. They had gotten together sophomore year and dated for a while, and then that thing with the vase, the window, and her car happened. So embarrassing, jinja.

“I guess we can go to the beach.” Mark said uncertainly. “Beach wins, as I also vote for that. We can get ice cream later in the day and go to the amusement park tomorrow. I can find a party for near the end of our stay. Meet in the entryway in twenty minutes, since some people take a little longer to get ready.” Jackson shook his head and sighed deeply. Jisu saw his pointed look at her from the corners of his eyes. She stuck her tongue out at him, then looked over to catch Mark staring at her, brow puckered, and she quickly looked down at her hands, cheeks flushing red. 

“Scatter!” Jackson yelled, his voice echoing loudly in the tall house. Jisu bolted up the stairs, hoping to grab the bathroom before someone else, but she took a while to find the swimsuit she wants and Mirae stole it, clutching her pastel pink one piece. Somin is looking for another bikini as her blue one is still wet from her early morning swim.

Finally Jisu found her leaf green tankini, swirling patterns of lighter green spreading out from her left strap. She closed the door and double checked the lock, but discovered that there was no lock. So she just closed the door and hoped that nobody opened the door without knocking, or knocked and then opened the door without waiting for her to answer. Believe it or not, her brothers had done that more times than she could count.

Changing as fast as possible, which is a little too fast because getting stuck in the bottom and falling over onto her bed is a usual circumstance, Jisu sorted through her bag, tossing out things randomly as she looked for her flips flops. She found them wedged at the bottom and sat back, surveying the total mess she had just created. 

“I’ll clean it up later.” Jisu decided aloud, wincing as her knees cracked when she stood up. Stupid knees. Dropping her purple flip flops on the ground, she slipped into them and slapped out the door to find a towel. After digging through several rooms she found the linen closet right next door of all places, and yanked out a random towel. It had been the stupidest thing to forget a towel, but it had been a rush of grabbing random things and packing when they got back from the dinner. No one had made eye   
contact and had not talked except to apologize when they brushed shoulders.

“Mmm, do we have sunscreen?” Mirae asked as she darted past. Jisu smiled after her friend, her pale skin and dark hair complimented by her light pink bathing suit. It was a one piece, Mirae was very self conscious and had never worn a bikini except once at the swimsuit shop where Somin and Jisu had forced her to put one on. “I think somebody mentioned they were putting it on the counter, I’ll go check.”

Jisu walked over the the kitchen, tying her hair back, then stopped in her tracks as somebody was already occupying the kitchen. Somin was sitting on the counter, cross legged, with BamBam in front of her, rubbing sunscreen into his back as they chatted in low tones. Obviously somebody had made up. Jisu wasn’t sure why she had stopped, it was just sunscreen after all. It wasn’t like she had walked in on them making out.

Shaking away the weird feeling, Jisu strode forward. “Is that the only bottle?” She asked brightly, swinging her towel over her shoulder. They both jolted and turned to look at her, Somin’s easy smile disappearing for a split second before she slapped it back on quickly. So Jisu had interrupted something, she just wasn’t sure what exactly.

“Oh, there’s one more.” BamBam reached around Somin to toss Jisu the other bright yellow squeeze tube. She managed to catch it, but barely, leaning backward and having to throw her hands up with her super sharp reflexes to catch it at all. “Then I’ll just be leaving.” She told them, tight lipped. 

Mirae ran up to her. “Oh good, you found it. We have a line waiting for usage. Aren’t there supposed to be two?” “Our favorite ship is hogging the other one.” Jisu tossed her the bottle grumpily. Mirae brushed her hair over her shoulder. “Put it on my back would you?” She asked, motioning to the cut out circle in her back. Jisu walked over, squeezing some out on her hand. “Honestly, how are you so pale?”

Mirae laughed slightly. “You guys tan so easily and are naturally darker than me to begin with. I burn and burn and burn.” It was true, her cheekbones were already a light pink from the morning newspaper run. Finishing applying the sunscreen, they switched places as Mirae applied it to the strip of skin visible on Jisu’s back and stomach. They continued sharing the bottle until Yugyeom finally came in and snatched it, having to ask Youngjae for help applying it to his pale back.

It took over an hour to get ready for the beach. With ten people and limited supplies, having everything go around took a while, and then they had to walk to the beach. It was pretty close, at the end of the street, but someone realized they had forgotten something and they had to keep stopping and waiting for that person to run back, unlock the house, and find whatever it was they had forgotten.

Around ten o’clock they arrived, after leaving at nine, after two hours of getting ready after their breakfast. At least all their food had definitely had time to settle. The waves on the beach were crashing on the surf, pounding the wet sand in towering blueness. There was nobody there, most likely because of the rough water, so they claimed a spot right off the entryway. 

After setting down their towels and giant umbrella that Jinyoung insisted on bringing, claiming they could get skin cancer from even sitting outside for a couple hours, Jisu immediately headed for the water. She wanted a cooldown, feeling hot and sticky from just walking the short way to the beach. 

“Going in already?” Mirae called from where she was kicking sand at JB, who had laid down on the sand and given up. Jisu nodded, wind whipping her hair all over the place. “I want to swim before it gets too rough to.” She shouted over the crashing waves and roar of the ocean. Edging towards the ocean, she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself as the first lapping wave of coldness brushed her toes. It was cold and numbing, but she forged onward.

Knee deep and Jisu’s teeth were chattering, but she stilled her shaking body. Coldness didn’t bother her and of course she wasn’t freezing. It was sort of a tradition, would she be the first one to brave the water at whichever beach they had traveled to? The next wave rolled over, plastering her hair to her back. Now that she was already soaked, there was no point in prolonging the diving in and submerging her face any longer.

Tensing, Jisu ducked down, swimming out and then popping back up. Her eyes were already stinging from the salty water, sand and seaweed swirling against her legs. Jisu looked back over at the beach, farther away than before, at her friends talking. Mirae had put her toes down in the water and was sitting on the sand with JB, both jumping when the water washed up over their legs. BamBam had jumped on Somin’s back and they were stumbling around until they tripped over Yugyeom and fell on top of him. Jisu heard Yugyeom’s scream even from how far away she was. Jinyoung was judging them again as Youngjae played with Coco with a tennis ball.

Jackson yelled at her, holding a water bottle in the air. Jisu assumed he wanted her to come back and drink it to be hydrated, so she simply raised her hand in the air to indicate she had heard. Starting back was hard, as the current was going against her. It had gotten stronger and the water kept pounding her from behind with the rippling effect from waves further out.

Mirae looked up and saw her coming back, waving brightly. She peered behind Jisu, eyebrows knitting together, and then yelled; “Jisu, there’s a huge wave coming, watch out!” Jisu glanced back, seeing a wave building far out in the distance. She waved Mirae’s concerns away. “It’s far off, I’ll be fine.” She called over the wind, slipping a little as the current tugged against her legs with a stronger force than before.

Mirae still looked concerned, but JB dunked her and the moment was over. Jisu had to steady herself with her hands on the swirling sediment as the current tugged more forcefully. Gosh, the shore was so far away. Jisu looked up to see Mirae and JB now   
standing up, yelling at her, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying, except that they were pointing behind her.

Jisu turned her head, but that was as far as she got before the huge wave crashed over her, tumbling her head over heels under the water. She struggled to the surface, but the undertow dragged her farther out and panic made her thrash desperately, water stinging her eyes so that she had no idea which direction land was. Her lungs filled with the salty water and it burned. The world was swirling blue and green, rain hitting her face whenever she surfaced for a rare second, and the time was too short for her to   
be able to breath. 

_I’m going to die._ Was what she thought when she finally gathered enough of her brain to actually think. It was too much to process, too much to survive, and the water was icy cold. She felt numb, but then something brushed her wrist and then fingers were wrapping around it, tugging her upwards.

Jisu met Jackson’s eyes, which were filled with fear. “Hold on!” He yelled, pulling her in close, but Jisu couldn’t answer because she was choking on air of all things. The ocean was their enemy, stormy and dragging them under no matter how much they fought it. “Jisu, you have to try and swim with me, I can’t do this alone!” Jackson was shaking her shoulders as yet another wave crashed over them. Jisu could hear faint screams from the shore, which meant they couldn’t be too far.

She nodded, forcing her legs to move and kick. Something hit her leg, sharp and dangerous, most likely a bit of shell, and she flinched at the pain, but continued kicking. She drowned out all other noise except for her labored breaths and the feel of Jackson holding her as he stroked through the choppy water. We can make it. We can do it. Jisu repeated the mantra in her head until the words became the truth to her.

Wet sand hit her knees and Jisu let Jackson drag her forward. She lay on the sand, breathing heavily and half crying, sobs catching in her throat. She was shivering uncontrollably, a gash from her leg to her foot was bleeding heavily, and sand pelted her skin from the wind, tiny prickles of pain. Mirae and Somin were running to her, while Mark grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her leg, clamping down with his hands to help stop the bleeding.

Jackson cradled her head in his hands. “Jisu, please say something.” He whispered, she could feel his breath on her lips. “Sorry.” She managed to choke out, tears hitting his fingertips. Jackson sat back, relieved, but he didn’t let go of her face. Jisu sniffled and couldn’t help but wonder why the only times Jackson was close enough to kiss her were when she was crying like a little kid.

“I’m going to get more towels and the first aid kid from the car.” Jackson stood up, legs covered in sand. His pants, since he hadn’t plained on swimming until later, were ruined, and Jisu felt guiltily. It was just clothes, and he had a thousand pairs, but she felt like another burden had been dumped on her shoulders.

Jisu nodded numbly, sitting up. Mirae was handing her a towel and Youngjae wrapped it around her shoulders. She was surrounded by concerned faces, her friends crowding her and someone handed her a water bottle. Jisu didn’t realize she had drank it all until the plastic crinkled in her fist and Somin took it gently. 

“Jisu, gwaenchanh ni?” Mark asked, leaning to look in her eyes. Jisu took in a deep breath, nodding. She was starting to feel again, and her leg was stinging. It hurt so much that she wanted to cry, but she also didn’t want to become more dehydrated. Instead, she focused on Mark’s eyes, which she found really pretty. Dark, kaleidoscoping like swirling earth. They anchored her, her breathing calming and everything else washing away.

Jackson returned, wrapped a fluffy white towel around her shoulders. Jisu shrugged it over her more, wrapping it so it was just under her chin. It made her feel snuggly and warm and she barely noticed when Jackson started to treat her leg, pouring water over it and cleaning the sand and bits of shell from her wound. 

Flinching the tiniest bit, Jisu squeezed the towel protectively. Mirae was rubbing her hair and face while Somin kept chatting about something, trying to distract her, which would have worked better if Jisu had been paying attention in the first place. The others stood around awkwardly, Yugyeom and Jinyoung making an effort to pick up their things. An umbrella soared through the air and Jisu stifled a laugh at JB leaping to get it and belly flopping on the sand. BamBam easily caught it in one hand as it soared past him.

“Done.” Jackson tightened the ace bandage. He looked up at Jisu, still crouching in the wet sand. “Feel better?” She dipped her head at him. “Good. It wasn’t that bad, so I don’t think we’ll have to take you to the hospital. After you clean all the blood of it's really just a tiny but long cut.” He brushed his hands off. “But seriously, that scared me so bad. Jisu, please at least swim with someone if we come back. Especially when it’s so choppy like that….”

Jisu found herself blushing. The concern in his voice was touching, making her feel even more warm and fuzzy than the towel did. Mark cleared his throat. Jisu stood up, Jackson holding her upper arm to make sure she didn’t fall. It felt weird to have her leg bandaged, the bandaging made it look worse than it really was. 

“We should probably leave. The storm’s only going to get worse and the beach is not the place to be when that happens.” He told them. Their friends had finished packing up and were waiting for them restlessly. Jackson pretended to think deeply about what to do, but Jisu could see a grin threatening at the corners of his mouth. 

“I know where we should wait out the storm.” He grinned madly, looking like he was having fantasies about whatever the place was. Mark glanced at him uneasily. “I can’t tell if it’s a genuine nice thing or if it’s one of those things you enjoy but the rest of us don’t.” Jisu couldn’t help but grin secretly about how the two of them acted around each other. They really were true friends, and Jisu couldn’t help but wonder why Jackson hadn’t told them about Mark or had Mark come out and meet them before right now.

“Don’t be silly.” Jackson bounced up and down like the little kid he was mentally. “Ice cream solves everything!” Jisu smiled as a collective cheer went up from everyone. She could already picture sprinkles and whipped cream and caramel sauce on a five scoop sundae. As Jackson twirled her around in a circle, all Jisu could really think was that _Gosh, she really loved Jackson so much._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, kudos! Comments! It will make me so happy <3


	10. Nice, part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um sorry it's been too long. BUT. BUTTTTTTTTTT. THE COMEBACCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like wow it looks so lit and amazing but like Mark is WAY too skinny. That's not healthy. Like in the showcase he couldn't even finish his rap and Jackson had to do it for him. Guys, he really needs a break. That's seriously not okay.  
> On the other hand, counting down the hours. And we got 25 kudos! Yay. Let's get to 1k hits~And we reached 10 subscriptions! Thank you!  
> Like I already feel inspiration for You Are and I've only seen the teasers and I want to write fanfiction but I can't write another full GOT7 fanfiction I want to finish my other ones HALP  
> This chapter is a little more-deep?-and we get Markson's (!!!!!!!!!!!!) backstory!

Mark’s hair was dripping into his eyes when they finally entered the ice cream shop. After a quick pit stop at the house, which involved them throwing the stuff inside and then running like crazy, they had gotten lost and had to ask for directions. It then took them an extra fifteen minutes to find the street and then to find the right shop as it wasn’t clearly readable in the stormy lighting.

A lone teenager was working the scoops and he looked up at them with a barely suppressed look of boredom. “Hello! How may I help you?” He asked perkily, standing up to his full height of around 6’2. Even Yugyeom and BamBam had to look up to meet his eyes. He had elfish ears and was wearing the ice cream shirt with all the proudness a man can muster when there’s a giant pink sprinkle covered ice cream cone sewn onto a purple shirt.

“We’re getting ice cream for ten, so you can help us by smiling happily while scooping immeasurable amounts of yummy flavors!” Jackson had that psychopathic kind of sound to his voice and look in his eyes and the ice cream scooper, Chanyeol as a closer look at his shirt revealed, looked a little taken aback. “Oh, of course. Shall I give you time to think over your order?” He asked pleasantly.

“We’re ready now.” Somin called, marching forward. “I would like a scoop of chocolate with fudge sauce and whipped cream and a cherry.” “Cookies and cream with caramel sauce, whipped cream, sprinkles, and two cherries.” Yugyeom said, peering at the flavors inside the glass. “One scoop of oreo with whipped cream and a cherry, small please.” BamBam ordered, probably because he had to watch his weight or something since he was an idol. Not that he needed to, since he was a twig. 

“I would like a vanilla milkshake with strawberry.” Jinyoung ordered quietly. Jackson gave him a thumbs down. “Who orders a milkshake at an ice cream place?” Jisu tossed in, mimicking Jackson. _Cute,_ Mark thought amusedly. “A milkshake is still a type of ice cream dish.” Jinyoung pointed out, finger raised as if he was about to give a history lesson about milkshakes.

JB pushed forward, analyzing the choices with Mirae, their noses both pressed to the glass. “Mint chocolate chip with caramel sauce, whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry.” Mirae ordered decisively, looking pleased at her own choice. “I want rocky road with fudge and whipped cream. No cherry.” Who ordered without the cherry? That was like kpop without BigBang. 

“I want strawberry with chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, like seriously man, give me both, and then a bunch of whipped cream, and all the leftover cherries, and then I mean you got to have caramel and the fudge, those seriously belong together.” Jackson’s mouth ran on as poor Chanyeol hurried to scribble down the order on his tiny pad of paper. It looked untouched. He had probably never had to use it before, but he’d never had to serve them either.

Jisu darted forward, ducking under Yugyeom and Somin. “Please give me two scoops of mocha ice cream with whipped cream and caramel to mask some of that strong flavor.” Youngjae peeked up from the counter, his hat shoved on again. Mark found Youngjae strange, but funny and good enough company.

“I want the full banana split sundae except with blueberries because I don’t like bananas and neapolitan ice cream.” Chanyeol blinked, leaning away from the close eye contact Youngjae was making with him. “I’m not sure we can trade out the bananas for blueberries.” He said cautiously, like he thought Youngjae might explode at him. “I’m sure you can figure it out.” Youngjae leaned in super close, like a snake. Chanyeol nodded, looking rather nervous. 

“Mark, you have to order.” Jackson hiss-whispered. Mark smiled sarcastically and walked up. “A scoop of caramel turtle pecan with whipped cream, a lot please, nuts, and a cherry.” “Oh, nuts.” He heard Somin comment to BamBam, who started laughing randomly. Chanyeol nodded before looking up. “I’ll have that for you ready soon.” Mark was pretty sure Chanyeol had to have a positive mindset for not breaking down from all the pressure.

As they wait Jackson starts telling a story and Mark sits quietly in the back and listens. Jackson has always been the extroverted one, the attention filled one, but Mark is content to walk in his shadow. Even if he doesn’t like to admit it, when he leaves Jackson’s shadow, he only gets hurt.

 

_Mark lived in America, California to be exact, when he was a kid. Being Korean born, but a perfect English speaker, he was a well known translator for new kids or such. His parents were close friends with a Chinese family, the Wangs, who came to a large international meeting every summer. As Mark was a translator, he had to sit through the meetings and translate some things._

_The one thing about the Wangs that Mark didn’t like was their son Jackson. They were the same age, but Mark avoided him like the plague throughout the summer. The Wangs were so close with the Tuans that they stayed the whole summer. Mark usually avoided Jackson by going to a summer camp, or even better, summer school. Jackson spoke Chinese and English since he went to an international school in Hong Kong._

_At least he thought he spoke English and it annoyed Mark to no end when he heard him speaking it, because he wasn’t saying it right. He didn’t use correct tenses and conjunctions. Anyway, Mark avoided him as much as he could._

_Until the summer he was seven. Mark hadn’t been able to arrange anything to avoid the Wangs for the summer, so he had curled up between a bookcase and a wall with a brand new novel to spend the day. Jackson had found him before he had even finished the second chapter._

_“Wanna play cars with me?” He asked, showing Mark a bright red little toy truck. Mark scoffed. “I don’t like cars.” He replied, turning his nose up at the offer. Jackson paused, like he was unsure of where to go with the conversation. “You speak English pretty good.” He finally announced. Mark looked up disdainfully from his book. “And you don’t. It’s ‘You speak English pretty well.”_

_Jackson blinked, looking around. “Are you American?” He asked perkily. Mark narrowed his eyes. “I’m Korean.” He snapped, jumping up from his spot and squeezing over Jackson to run out of the room. He hid in his special alcove off the stairs, tucked in a corner in the ceiling._

_At dinnertime he had to sit next to Jackson and eat some Chinese dish that he really liked, but just pretended it was okay. After dinner the parents sent him and Jackson downstairs to play. Mark crossed his arms and sat in a corner, glaring at Jackson, who cheerfully found his old train set and put it out. He made little car noises as he made the cars travel down the track._

_“Do you want to play?” He asked Mark, smiling broadly. Mark shook his head, slouching. Jackson stopped playing with cars. “You’re mean.” He whined. Mark had never felt more anger before in his life. “You’re the one who thought I was American!” He screeched. “And cars are really stupid!” Jackson lowered his head. “It was a compliment. I meant that you speak English really well that nobody could even guess you were born in Korea.”_

_Mark had his own doubts about Jackson’s smooth lie, but he accepted the apology with a nod of his head. There was silence for a little bit, Jackson nervously fiddling with his red truck. “So, um, if you don’t like cars, do you want to play with trains instead?” He asked, bringing out a bucket of trains. Mark slowly scooted over, peering inside._

_“I want the blue one.” He finally said, taking it out. “Red.” Jackson decided, choosing the red replica of Mark’s blue train. And so they became friends and spent every summer that the Wangs spent in America together. When they finally got phones, they texted and skyped while Jackson was in Korea. Since there was the problem of time differences, Mark would stay up way late after his parents had told him to sleep and they would text for hours. He could sleep through first period. After all, it was only biology._

_When Mark finally made plans to stay with relatives in Korea after an unfortunate incident at his old school, Jackson offers to let Mark stay with him during the duration of his time as to not bother his relatives who did not want a teenager. He accepts and even though they’re enrolled in different schools, it’s comfortable when it’s night and they’re watching cheesy dramas with cheesy ramen._

_School was lonely. Even though Mark was Korean, he couldn’t remember much of the language as it had been over a decade since he had spoken it. It was hard to understand the lessons, and then there was the problem of the social hierarchy.  
Mark wasn’t a stranger to bullies. He knew that Jinyoung’s group was at the top of the food chain and Jinyoung was the ruler of them all. So he knows how risky it is to ask to come along. He thinks Jinyoung is going to slap him or punch him or sic his minions on him, but instead Jinyoung just nods and turns around and walks back to the group._

_It’s slow but sure, Mark belonging in the group, and he accepts it. Jinyoung isn’t as bad as he seems and half the time Mark finds himself just hanging out with Jinyoung when his minions aren’t there. Jinyoung is different when they’re alone. Mark likes it when he smiles. It's fun and Jackson doesn’t press at home, but Mark can tell he’s happy that Mark must’ve made a friend now that he’s not staying at their apartment as much._

_BamBam comes and school is different. Mark isn’t sure why Jinyoung has picked BamBam of all people, but something about BamBam, new in this environment with no knowledge of the language reminds Mark of his first few days at the school struggling to understand, ostracized by his classmates. It starts out small, dropping the band aid and not fighting when the others do. Then it becomes bigger, sabotaging Jinyoung’s plans and then the conversation in the corner of the landing.  
Mark doesn’t know how Jinyoung finds out._

_All he knows is that Jinyoung is a coward. A coward because he couldn’t deal with Mark himself, and maybe this is how he’s dealing with Mark, but all Jinyoung does is watch from across the river as blow after blow lands on Mark. Then as the world tunnels and the bones in his body breaks, Mark sees him laughing and it hurts him more than his broken ribs do. Eyes filled with mirth, dark eyes that crinkled when Jinyoung smiled, and then he drowns._

_He isn’t sure who calls 911. Maybe it was BamBam, who he doesn’t see again. All he knows is that they drag him from the cold water and apparently have to give him oxygen. Someone later tells him how scary it was, rushing there to see what the ambulance was doing and seeing how blue and cold he was._

_Mark’s in a coma for three months, about the whole remainder of the school year, and then when he wakes up, gasping for oxygen, Jackson is beside him. Every day Jackson had sat by his side and talked to him, even the nurses tell him. Mark cries for a long time after learning what happened, and then his parents are pushing for him to come back to America and stay there for senior year._

_He goes, because he doesn’t feel safe in Korea anymore. The incident has passed at his old school, but there are still those freshman who creep up to him and ask him if he was involved in that thing. Once he turns eighteen, Jackson immediately asks him to come back to Korea and stay the summer and meet all his friends._

_Mark gets accepted into a university in Seoul and agrees, coming down. He’s not expecting Jinyoung. It leaves him reeling, gasping for air, lost. Jinyoung ignores him and Mark’s not sure if he’s glad or not. He goes along with it of course, but he’s terrified. Someone who used to be his best friend, who hurt him in all the ways possible, is back, and Mark feels like he’s seventeen and struggling to breathe again._

 

“Your orders are ready!” Chanyeol calls from the counter, where ten bowls of ice cream are lined up on top of the glass ice cream choices. “And they’re labeled, so please do not ask me which is which. Even if they were not labeled, it would be obvious because I would hope that you know what the flavor you ordered looks like.” Something about the way he was repeating the words made Mark think that he had said them many times before to more, ah, idiotic customers.

He found his cup in the mess, looking delicious and whipped creamy, caramel drizzling off the sides. Youngjae and Jackson were pushing three tables together, and pulling up extra chairs where needed. There was the scraping of metal on tile as people converged on the table, pulling out chairs and sitting down wherever there was space.

Mark found an extra spot on the end. He would have sat somewhere in the middle, but he wasn’t comfortable around this group yet. It’s better to remain on the edge, standing there just barely and able to fall at any moment than actually falling. The first bite of his ice cream is heaven in his mouth, whipped cream fluffy clouds, and he eats it slowly, savoring it, while listening to the random conversation of a group that could become his friends. 

“What you’re not getting is that Super Junior debuted in 2005, which is a year before BigBang did.” Jisu pointed out around a mouthful of ice cream, pointing her spoon at Somin, who wiped her mouth. “Yeah, but they’re only known for Sorry Sorry, and that was 2009 sweetie.” Somin said sweetly, shoveling ice cream into her mouth. BamBam licked the whipped cream from her mouth and she swatted him lightly. Mark saw Jackson make a gagging motion and he struggled to keep a straight face. 

“Well BigBang is only known for Fantastic Baby, and that wasn’t until 2012.” Youngjae threw in. “Thank you.” Jisu muttered. “Not true!” Yugyeom interjected. “There’s Haru Haru, Bang Bang Bang, Last Dance, Fxxt It, and about fifty million others. You can’t be around for more than a decade and not have just one hit. BigBang is one of the main groups that get people into kpop.”

Jisu coughed. “If we’re doing it that way, what about Mamacita, Devil, Mr. Simple, and Sexy, Free & Single?” She asked innocently. “Super Junior has been around for more than a decade.” “Yeah, but half their members left and they took a super long hiatus. Do you see BigBang doing any of that?” BamBam decided to take his girlfriend's side, always the right choice for men in a relationship. 

Jinyoung groaned loudly. “Come on. All I see BigBang doing is breaking up and T.O.P. messing up his life. Also, Jisu is only obsessed with Heechul so her opinion shouldn’t really count. BigBang is better at the idol life, Super Junior’s just fun for variety shows. Is the argument settled yet?” Jinyoung had a way of making conversations end in the common goal of hating Jinyoung himself, and both Somin and Jisu made this true by starting to yell at him about his ‘disrespect’.

Mark settled in to watch the show. Honestly, watching this group was better than any drama he had ever seen, and Jackson had made him see quite a few. Though most of the dramas Jackson had shown him were awful, lovesick, and very crappy. By now everyone else was throwing in their own opinions on Super Junior and BigBang and then Shinhwa got thrown into the mix somehow. One time, at the peak of the fight, Mark glanced back and saw Chanyeol literally facepalming himself and mouthing something about how Sistar destroyed all.

The storm let up outside, the sun peeking through the gauzy colors of a rainbow. The world outside was glittering, the raindrops shining on the wet pavement. Mark stares dreamily out the window, reminded of first kisses and goodbyes. He remembers a day when he ran with his bookbag over his head after school had ended, the rain blinding his eyes, and had ran into _that someone_ in the middle of the sidewalk. Jeans soaked through, slipping on the wet ground, and staring into wide eyes, too startled to look mean for once.

Lost in the moment, Jackson has to snap his fingers in front of Mark’s face to get his attention. Mark glanced up, seeing everyone standing up and throwing away trash. “We’re leaving lover boy.” Jackson smirked and Mark quickly shoved one last bite of ice cream in his mouth, cringing inwardly at the brain freeze he could feel taking over his teeth. 

“I’m not a lover boy.” He called after Jackson, tossing his bowl in the trash can and shoving in his chair. “The look on your face certainly was.” Jackson replied, smiling a half smile of amusement. Mark made a face at him, flicking his balled up paper napkin and hitting the back of Jackson’s head. Jackson grabbed his head reproachfully, sticking out his tongue at Mark, who laughed and ran to catch up with him, catching the door that Jackson let fall towards his face.

It was humid outside, but the temperature had changed enough to make Mark rub his arms as goosebumps sprang up. He was wearing a jacket, but was still somewhat chilly. Burrowing into his sleeves, he walked down the sidewalk behind the others. They were the only people out, as most people were still inside from the rain, maybe on a couch with popcorn and a movie. Shoes squished on the wet grass from the people who were trying to walk three in a row, but couldn’t fit and still tried to.

He was sort of zoning out, listening to aimless chatter, when there was a scuffing off shoes and that tripping noise, and he ground to a halt just in time for Youngjae to stumble back into him after hitting JB’s back. At first Mark doesn’t know what’s happened, only hears the stinging remark from Jinyoung’s curled mouth; “Watch where you’re going.” And then hears it trail off into silence.

When he looks up his breath stops. Jinyoung is staring silently at Tor, who stands at cocky angle, hands shoved into pockets, shoulders sloped. Mark froze, balancing on one foot, but too afraid about what was about to happen to step back. The rest of the group seemed to have sensed that something was off, Mark felt dark energy, saw the tenser statures and the fading smiles replaced by cool stares.

“Park Jinyoung.” Tor drawls out slowly. His lips lifted slightly at the corners and he barked out a short laugh. “Bastard.”

He punched Jinyoung in the face.

JB grabbed Jinyoung’s arm as he stumbled back slightly. Jinyoung shook him off and Jackson was already moving forward, but Mark grabbed his arm. Where Tor was, the others followed. Getting into a fight wouldn’t do them any good. Jinyoung spit on the ground, and Mark caught a glimpse of the anger burning in his eyes. 

Jinyoung swung upward so fast that Mark could barely catch the moment he hit Tor’s face, Tor falling backwards. JB tried to restrain Jinyoung, but Jinyoung was fighting like an animal. He had rarely fought for himself back at school but Mark remembered the few times he did, being awed at how someone could so viciously destroy someone. Now all he saw was someone so hurt they’d become a monster if you made the wrong move.

“Yah!” Someone yelled from across the street and Mark looked over to see Bank and James running over. “Aish, really?” Youngjae whined, straightening his hat. A fight wasn’t what they came looking for, but Mark guessed that was what they were going to get. Jackson hits James in the face and Bank kicks out at JB, who neatly dodges, Mirae using a roundhouse kick to hit Bank square in the head. She grabbed her foot, hopping up and down.

JB tugged her in close. “This isn’t a place for you to show off your martial art skills. You’re going to break one of your bones and make me carry you, and I don’t want that.” Mirae glared up at him. “The concern is touching, but I think my ankle is already fractured, at the very least.” JB sighed. “Just stay back with Jisu, okay?” “Yah! I’m not tiny like Jisu, you can’t tell me what to~~~” JB shoved her back into Jisu, who was crouching behind one of the little outdoor cafe tables. 

Mark jumped aside as Jackson fell backward, Youngjae grabbing him just in time to prevent him from falling. “For ten to three, you think fighting would be easy.” Yugyeom mumbled from where he was filming, Somin asking him to share it with her when he was done. BamBam had shrunk back, trying to blend into the tan wall with his pale white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Mark didn’t think Tor had noticed him yet, or if he had was just deciding to ignore BamBam. The choices you make change how people  
think of you and since Tor hadn’t seen BamBam in, what, two years?, BamBam was different now.

There was a loud smash as James overcalculated a rock he was throwing and it soared through the ice cream shop window. “WHO THE HECK DID THAT???” Chanyeol screamed from inside the shop, running out with a livid expression on his face. “Aigoo, we need to go.” JB muttered, combing his fingers through his hair and straightening his hoodie. Mirae and Jisu darted out from where they had reflexively ducked when the rock had hit the window, behind the table, and ran over to the group. Jisu grabbed Jackson’s hand, Mark could see her twisting his fingers nervously.

As Bank and James ran off, Tor following, Tor stopped in front of Mark. Mark lowered his gaze, not hard to do as Tor was several inches taller than him. Chanyeol was running towards them, waving his phone, and Tor glanced at him. He grabbed Mark’s jacket, tugging him forward roughly. “I thought you were strong, but you still came back to him just like a dog. A lowly, filthy dog.” He released Mark, shoving him back hard enough that Mark nearly fell over. Then he was gone.

Mark stared after him, barely able to contain his shaking. They were moving again, running, but he couldn’t forget the words. Was that what Tor thought of him? That Jinyoung controlled him? That he was weak?

_A lowly, filthy dog._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chanyeol being a savage. Leave kudos and comments on what you think and theories and stuff! I'll love you~


	11. Rewind, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I honestly have kind of given up on sticking to a schedule, it's either a week or two weeks that is all I can say. We're so close to 1k hits!   
> So this chapter is pretty short but it's angsty feels and for that guest who wanted Markjin here it is-angst will have to do. (They're not really a ship but you find out about that later)

If I could I would pull it up and rewind  
I look at you so hard I could see right through you  
But you don’t look back at me once  
~Rewind, GOT7 

As soon as they get back, Mark goes to the kitchen. “I”ll take care of the first aid.” He calls, searching for the kit in the cabinets. Jinyoung watches him move silently. He can feel the weighty gaze of Mirae on his back as she brushes past him, heading upstairs. He’s the only one who really needs first aid, Jackson has the faint shadowing of a bruise on his cheekbone, but Jinyoung hears him quietly assuring Jisu that he’s fine.

“We’re going out!” Somin waves her phone in the air. “Exploring!” Youngjae adds, looking happy to be included in the plans. JB stops, halfway up the stairs. “Be back by six. Do not get into trouble and avoid that ice cream shop in case the worker recognizes any of us.” He peered at them carefully. “He won’t.” Yugyeom rolled his eyes and BamBam playfully hit him. “With such an ugly face like you have, he was probably scarred for life and is _trying_ to forget you.” He teased. Yugyeom snarled at him.

They clambered out the door, laughing and talking like nothing had happened a few minutes ago. “I’m going upstairs.” Mirae said, trudging up the stairs. “Wait up.” Jisu hobbled after her, Jackson running over and making her put an arm over his shoulders to help her up the stairs. JB was already putting on his headphones, a sign that he was going to be blocking out the world for a while. 

Jinyoung walked into the kitchen, wincing at the pain in his ribs. Mark was setting up a first aid station on the counter. “Thank you.” Jinyoung mumbled as Mark motioned for him to lift his shirt up. “Where do you think you’re injured?” Mark asked coldly. “Um, just ribs and face.” Jinyoung replied, feeling somehow self conscious and exposed. His face was stinging from the initial punch and then from being slammed into a wall. He was pretty sure there was a long scratch down his cheek, he could feel blood dripping down his neck.

“Aigoo, that’s ugly.” Mark murmured, more to himself than to Jinyoung. Jinyoung looked down, wondering why it didn’t hurt more. Dark purpling bruises were scattered consistently across his abdomen. He hadn’t realized Tor had kicked him that hard, but since Tor had managed to kick him several times, maybe that was why it was so bruised now. “I need to put medicine on it, so don’t move.” Mark ordered, turning to the supplies spread out neatly and orderly.

Jinyoung stayed in the same position, though he was nervous. If someone tells you to stay put and don’t move, it’s most likely because the medicine is going to hurt. Jinyoung wasn’t a stranger to pain, he had a high endurance as he was part of a gang, but still the anticipation of pain was enough to make him worry. 

Mark grabbed a tube, squeezing out a white paste on his fingers. “Stand very still.” He said softly, leaning down so Jinyoung could only see the top of his hair, darkish brown. He started rubbing the medicine across Jinyoung’s bruises, his touch tingling, but maybe that was just the paste. “Stop twitching.” Mark commanded, like a real doctor. Jinyoung tried to stop, but he was extremely ticklish and the paste was making him have goosebumps, and therefore twitchy.

“Why are you helping me?” Jinyoung asked, straightening. Mark didn’t pause, continuing his work. “Why are you asking me that?” He answered the question with a question, and Jinyoung wasn’t stupid. He knew when someone was trying to make it seem like they had answered a question, when they really hadn’t. 

“You hate me.” Jinyoung replied casually. “I don’t hate you.” Mark said without skipping a beat and Jinyoung would be lying if he wasn’t surprised by the answer. He had assumed that Mark harbored a deep hatred, and to find out that he didn’t even though he knew what Jinyoung had done, well Jinyoung was surprised. There was a lie somewhere in the words, there had to be one. Jinyoung cleared his throat. “I thought you did.” Mark laughed, standing up and brushing his hair out his eyes, slightly curly from drying when wet.

“Hate is a very strong term.” Mark told him. “Now stop talking, I need to fix your face.” Though he was unsettled, Jinyoung snapped his mouth shut as Mark cleaned the cut gently. “You shouldn’t have reciprocated.” Mark murmured in his ear. “Your face is a mess.” “Does it ruin my handsomeness?” Jinyoung teased. He heard Mark laugh quietly. “You, Yugyeom, BamBam, Jackson, you’re all so cocky about your looks.”

Jinyoung didn’t appreciate being called cocky, but he supposed he should be glad Mark was talking to him at all. As Mark closed the cut with a salve that stung, Jinyoung wet his lips nervously. “Mark…” He started out, waiting to gauge the reaction Mark would have. Mark stiffened, but continued patching up his face. “Are you afraid of me?” Jinyoung finally asked bluntly.

Mark stepped back. “That’s a stupid question.” He said bitterly, cleaning up the supplies and putting them back in the cabinet. “That’s not an answer.” Jinyoung pointed out, touching the cut on his cheek and wincing. Mark faced him. “You were the only one.” He started, fiddling with his sleeves, a bad habit Jinyoung has noticed. Since all of his clothes had overly long sleeves that cover his hands, he had a bad habit of playing with them. Jinyoung found it cute, something so natural that you could practically count on it.

“What?” Jinyoung asked. Mark met his eyes. “Everyone moved when I sat down. No one wanted to be my partner. It hurt a lot, being ostracized when they didn’t even know me. You were the only one who accepted me, do you know how unlikely that is? You, of all people, the ruler of the school who nobody was friends with but followed you anyway, were the only one who let me in. I was afraid of you, of course I was, why wouldn’t I be? I saw what you did to people who were in the way. When I finally got the courage to ask to join in, I thought you were going to hit me. But you didn’t. You let me join.”

Jinyoung isn’t sure what direction this is heading in and he’s slightly afraid of Mark’s words. Mark continues on. “Along the way I lost that view of you. In front of my eyes you became more human, and you changed. To me at least.” He pauses and Jinyoung reads into the last sentence. He’s not sure what it means. If Mark is trying to tell him that Jinyoung hadn’t changed at all, or if Mark was trying to tell him that Mark had changed him, Jinyoung wasn’t sure.

“I guess I tricked myself into thinking I was safe around you, that nothing could touch me. But I was stupid. I couldn’t let myself see that the thing corrupting me, poisoning me, was the person I thought was protecting me.” The words are crippling and Jinyoung can’t breathe. Mark was right when he said that he didn’t hate Jinyoung. This loathing, it was a whole different type of hate. Splintered shards of hurt twisted into something worse.

Mark’s smile was sharp, his eyes like broken glass. “I was wrong, Jinyoung. I thought you were my friend, but you hurt me. You hurt me so bad that…” His voice broke. Jinyoung watched, silently. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Jinyoung finally said softly. Mark made a disbelieving sound. Desperation rose in Jinyoung. “I needed to have control, I needed to make sure that,” He stopped, rewording. “All I did was make sure that you stayed with me, that you~” 

“You tried to drown me!” Mark screamed, swiping his sleeve angrily across his face. Jinyoung stumbled back, grabbing the counter. “What?” He whispered, brow creasing. Mark’s eyes were rimmed with red, puffy. “Do you know what it’s like to be beaten so bad that you can’t move? Do you know what it’s like to be dumped in a river like you’re trash?” His voice rose to a shriek, bordering on hysterical, and Jinyoung stepped back.

“The water wasn’t even knee deep.” Mark said, quieter, folding in on himself, looking at the ground. Jinyoung’s head was throbbing, his heart beating in quick succession. “It was water I could easily stand in, but I couldn’t move and it was freezing cold, so cold that the second you enter it you go completely numb. I tried to breathe, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t breathe.” He says, panic seeping into his voice, and there’s a look in his eyes that terrifies Jinyoung, because it’s so fractured and unstable, like he’s lost.

“I never told you them to throw you in the river.” Jinyoung said after a beat of silent. A part of him wants to scream at Mark, to tell him that he’s lying, that Jinyoung’s not heartless and neither were his ‘friends’. There’s a scary silence for a few seconds, then Mark slowly looks up, eyes burning with a fire. “Liar.” He says it so softly, but the words carry knives.

Jinyoung clenches his fists. He can take a lot of thing. He can take hits and stabs and words, but he cannot take being called a liar. He might be a lot of things, but he is not a liar. “Do. Not. Call. Me. A. Liar.” He hissed and that is the start. Mark half smiles. “Wae?” He raised his eyebrows. “If I can be called a dog, why can’t I call you a liar?” 

“I am not a liar!” Jinyoung’s voice rises and he struggles to lower it, to regain control of his temper. “You told me that I’d be safe with you! That you wouldn’t let anyone hurt me!” Mark screams back. Jinyoung can’t believe that he remembers something like that, from so long ago. “But you lied.” Mark looks so heartbroken, that Jinyoung feels his anger slipping away. “You were the person who hurt me.” He rubs at his eyes, tears tracks glistening on his face. 

“You hurt me first. You betrayed me for someone you didn’t even know~” Mark cuts him off before he can continue. “Don’t twist this. Hurting someone for pure satisfaction is cruel, it’s sadistic, and there’s no way you can turn that to make you the victim of the story. I went along with it, because I thought I knew you, but I didn’t.” Jinyoung reaches forward and grabs Mark’s hand. Apologies are hard to make, but it has to start somewhere. He can’t tell Mark, he can’t make himself tell Mark that he hated BamBam because he saw all the insecurities that he hated about himself and that destroying BamBam was like destroying the weakness he tried so hard to hide. 

“Mark.” Because saying someone’s name is the best way to start. “I know that I hurt you and I was a coward for not doing it face to face, but I was scared. You were...different. You treated me differently than everyone else. You listened and I wasn’t afraid to talk to you because I knew you weren’t like the other kids. You wouldn’t use it to your advantage. I’m sorry that I hurt you.” Mark shook him off.

“There you go again.” He said in a small but sharp voice. “Trying to cover up with words and apologies.” “I am sorry.” Jinyoung protests. He’s frustrated, but he’s also more confused than anything. “I don’t know what I need to say for you to get that I’m different. I’ve moved on. I’ve healed myself. I’m not the same person I was junior year.” Mark bites his lip, looking at his hands, which are once again clenching the gray fabric of his sleeves. Jinyoung remembers that shirt, the worn neckline that showed skin, and the soft cotton feel of it. 

“You laughed.” He says, so quietly that Jinyoung almost misses it. “I tried to look around for help, but all I could see was you and you were _laughing_. You were laughing at my pain and I just couldn’t believe that someone who cried when he talked about he couldn’t save his sister from the pain would laugh at someone. It’s so hypocritical. Did you ever think that maybe you couldn’t save your sister because of that?” It’s a low, personal blow, and Jinyoung snaps.

“How dare you talk about my sister like that!” He screams, raising his hand just as a threatening motion not even close enough to hit, but Mark flinches, shying away. Jinyoung freezes, lowering his hand slowly. Mark is turned away. “I’m sorry.” Jinyoung whispers, reaching forward, but Mark twists away, smiling bitterly at him.

“For a minute there, you almost had me believing that you’d changed.” He says, turning and leaving the kitchen. Jinyoung hears the door close and he punches the wall, letting out a long hiss of frustration. Why did he have to mess everything up? Just when he thought they could’ve maybe fixed things he’d gone and ruined it.

Except, maybe things couldn’t be fixed that easily. Mark was scarred, both mentally and most likely physically, and it took a while to heal scars that ran that deep. Maybe they both needed time. It had been over a year since he had seen Mark after all. It would take a long time to regain trust, longer than it had with BamBam.

Walking upstairs, Jinyoung bumped into Jackson who was heading downstairs. “Hey, Jackson?” Jinyoung called, stopping and turning back to look at Jackson, who paused, looking up with eyebrows raised. “Why did Mark go abroad for a year?” He asked. Jackson pursed his lips, looking like he was considering what to say carefully.

“At his school in Korea there was a really bad accident. He was in a coma for three months. Anyways, his parents wanted him to go back to America for senior year.” Jackson said, leaning against the railing. “Accident?” Jinyoung feigned ignorance, leaning on the rail. Jackson gazed at him, and Jinyoung thought he spotted a hint of suspicion. “Yeah. Some freaking idiots beat him up and tried to drown him by throwing him into a river. It was terrifying.” Jackson let out a shaky breath. “But I’m sure you knew that already.” He added, walking down the rest of the stairs.

Jinyoung stared after him, wide eyed. Had he heard their conversation? Had he figured it out? Jinyoung slumped down on the stairs, staring up at the ceiling. Why was it always like this? 

Letting out a deep breath, Jinyoung closed his eyes. Just a little time and everything would be alright. Just time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please please please leave comments and you're thoughts they really make my day!   
> After this is some fluffy romance and /stuff/ *raises eyebrows* you'll have to wait to see what it is (probably over exaggerating but my friends died that's all I'll say)  
> Tell me what you thought, I hope to update next week because I actually think I have like nothing going on so: See you :)


	12. Rewind, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fun 'girl time' before some fluffy (for me) stuff in the next 'part'!   
> WE HIT 1K HITS I AM SO HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYY
> 
> (Also, if you've read my other fanfics which you all should, you know this, but I'm NaNoWriMo and the Nu'est fic exchange this year and that's filling up all my time. I don't think it will effect this fanfiction since it's already written and edited, I just have to make the changes then post, but you should know anyway :D)

Mirae rapped her spoon against her ramen bowl. “I call this meeting to order.” She announced, looking around the darkened kitchen at Somin and Jisu. They were also slurping ramen, Somin sitting cross legged on the counter and Jisu leaning on the refrigerator. Mirae herself was sitting next to Somin on the counter, but with her legs dangling over the edge so they hit the cabinets below consistently.

“What matters do we need to discuss tonight?” She asked, looking around. “Somin, you first.” Somin thought hard and long, her lips sticking out like a fishes. “Yugyeom and BamBam are still acting really weird around each other. I think they had a fight, but if they did it was something way more. It’s worrying me. I also think that Youngjae’s feeling sad. I mean he’s going off the college way far away, so I really think we need to make this the best summer vacation ever.”

Jisu nodded thoughtfully, which was hard to do with noodles dangling from her mouth. “Yeah. Yugyeom and BamBam have been really tense around each other. Something definitely happened between them.” Mirae had her own secret opinions of what happened, but she didn’t want to say anything and cause a commotion on a hunch.

“Ah, I know!” Jisu waved her chopsticks in the air excitedly. “Maybe they fought about you!” She pointed her deadly chopsticks at Somin, who blinked in surprise. “Moi?” She gestured at herself in disbelief. Mirae almost corrected them, but it was a hunch after all. “Yeah. Because I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but whenever you and BamBam are together Yugyeom watches you guys.”

Mirae tilted her head. She wanted to point out that Jisu had said ‘when you guys are together’, which didn’t necessarily mean Somin, but they were already discussing what could have happened, so she sat back and listened. 

After the conversation got unnecessarily long, she cut in. “Jisu, any problems you need to discuss?” Jisu nodded, eager as if she had been waiting for this moment. “Mark and Jinyoung-there’s a super weird chemistry going on there.” “Chemistry?” Mirae raised her eyebrows, conveying the perfect image of girl, stop lying to yourself. “Not chemistry, energy.” Jisu waved off the mishap quickly, but blushed anyways.

“I think they need to work some things out.” Mirae said carefully. “They’ve known each other for three days, what can they possibly need to work out?” Somin questioned. Mirae bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying something totally crazy. Thankfully, Jisu answered for her. “Something might have happened at the party.”

“Everything happens at parties.” Mirae drawled. “Now let’s gossip about useless stuff we’ll never need to know.” Somin and Jisu cheered, but quietly. Their secret kitchen meetings were just that, secret, and took place at midnight so nobody would listen in. “And while we’re talking,” Mirae reached behind her and took out the blu ray case. “I brought along that kdrama!” Jisu squealed, but Somin and Mirae both quickly slapped their hands over her mouth. They were used to doing that to her after many many midnight meetings with ramen and kdramas.

As Mirae popped in the disk, the conversation turned to crushes as it usually did. “So, are you ever going to ask Jackson out? I mean, he’s going to be going to college in the fall and so are you, you have to grasp the moment before it’s gone.” Somin asked Jisu, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Well, um…” She stuttered, stumbling over her words.

Finally, she said; “Who even says that I like Jackson? This is totally assumptious!” She was bright red. “Wow. Nice wording.” Mirae sat back on the couch, flipping through the episodes until she came to the one they were on. “Oh, Jisu, just admit it already. You can’t keep anything from my eyes.” Somin said knowingly, searching through the freezer for ice cream. Mirae raised her eyebrows at this and Somin flicked her when she turned around. 

Jisu sighed, digging out a spoonful of ice cream with her spoon from the mint chocolate chip container Somin had just drawn out of the way back of the freezer. “Yah! Hands off! You’ll get your germs all over it.” Somin whined, slapping at Jisu’s hand, but Jisu just smiled as she swallowed. “Shush, the drama’s starting.” Mirae said, slapping hands over her friend’s mouths.

Somin grinned, leaning in close. “Since Jisu won’t admit to her crush, how about we talk about your crush.” She said and Mirae flushed. “What crush would that be?” “Jaebum~” Jisu sing songed. Mirae reached around Somin and stole the ice cream container. “JB and I are good friends.” She replied stubbornly. “That’s what they all say in the dramas.” Somin had that knowing look around her again. 

“Speaking of dramas, let’s focus on the one we’re watching right now.” Mirae tried hard to change the subject, but her friends apparently cared more about her love life than Jisu’s love life or Somin’s. It could be because Mirae hadn’t really had a love life to begin with, never crushed, never dated, never gotten asked to prom even. Spoiler, she’d gone with JB and Jinyoung and they’d had a repeat of formal, playing cards with food and drinks in the corner, with a mixup of being forced to slow dance. Mirae hadn’t minded the slow dance part, there had been that cute guy who had dancer with her after all. 

The drama they were watching was Hwarang, well rewatching, and they practically had the episodes memorized, but Mirae pretended that she didn’t know what Dog Bird was doing at the moment. “He totally likes you.” Jisu was saying and Mirae tried to tune them out. “Yeah. You guys are already like a married couple.” Somin nodded along as she and Jisu continued the conversation about Mirae and JB and how perfect they were.

“I know. Jinyoung’s said that so many times.” Mirae groaned. Jisu started humming the ‘kissing in a tree song’, and Mirae threw pillows at them until they finally shut up and screamed when their favorite character died, even though they had rewatched that scene over ten times and knew exactly what happened. 

After finishing their episode, hiding the evidence of late night ramen and ice cream, Jisu and Somin disappeared upstairs with Mirae trailing more slowly behind them. As she walked past the bathroom, the door opened and Jinyoung came out, nearly bumping into her. “Oh, sorry.” He mumbled, moving past, but Mirae caught his arm.

“Jinyoung.” She said. “What?” He replied, detaching himself from her grip. “Are you okay?” Mirae asked. Jinyoung rubbed his eyes. There were dark circles under them and he looked burdened, weighed down. “Fine. Why?” He lied, quite obviously if Mirae did say so herself. “You’ve been acting distant. I was just checking.” 

Jinyoung sighed. “I’m just dealing with someone, I mean something.” He quickly corrected. Mirae looked at him seriously. “Jinyoung, I already had to go through junior year without knowing what was going on with you. Please don’t be afraid to talk to me or JB, or anyone here. We’re your friends.” She pleaded softly.

“I know.” Jinyoung said. “But don’t worry. I’ve got it all under control.” That didn’t make Mirae feel assured, but she just shook her head and walked past Jinyoung and out onto the balcony. Falling asleep was no longer an option for the night.

The balcony was cool, flowers on the railing. Mirae leaned on her arms, staring up at the stars and going through her breathing exercises. There’s a creak as the door opens and JB walks out, a blanket draped around his shoulders. “Cold?” He mumbled, voice thick from sleep. “Sure.” Mirae replied, moving over so he could tuck the blanket around her shoulders too. 

“What are you doing up so late?” JB asked conversationally. Mirae almost lets slip about their secret meetings, but she instead says; “Couldn’t sleep.” Then; “I ran into Jinyoung too.” JB nodded, like he understood what she meant. “He’ll be okay.” She stiffened as JB’s hand landed on her back and he patted it twice, awkwardly. “We’ll be okay.”

“I wasn’t concerned about that.” Mirae told him. “By the way, did you see what Min posted on Instagram?” JB made a horrified expression on his face. “Omo, yes I did and all I can say is never again.” Mirae almost fell off the balcony from laughing. “It wasn’t that bad!” “Maybe for you, but I’m a guy.” JB explained. They continued to banter, their laughter drifting into the night.

Their friends found them asleep, leaning on each other, on the balcony in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Subscribe, leave kudos, and comment? I just realized this chapter is pretty short but I wanted to end Rewind so *nods*
> 
> And...so I have this Stray Kids fanfic I'm working on. Any of you guys interested in reading like an assassin thing? Later on of course....
> 
> Also, who do you guys ship so far? Comment below to tell me (so I can laugh)


	13. Dreamin', part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fluff and an Exo cameo in this one!!

Your chic expression,  
the way you talk is so sweet to me  
Your fashion style,  
everything is as hot as it would be in a dream  
~Dreamin’, GOT7

 

“Woah.” Jisu gaped up at the tall roller coasters and the towering ferris wheel, weird rides zooming around with people screaming high above them. The ground of the amusement park was crowded with people milling about and food vendors, a thousand different smells wafting through the air. 

“Meet up in three hours guys. I would prefer if we stuck together, but I know some people have no self control when it comes to fun spinny rides.” Jackson announced. “By some people he means us!” Yugyeom threw a peace sign and the whole maknae line cheered. Youngjae looked like he was regretting getting roped into something he might not enjoy as much as he thought.

The maknae line runs off, heading in the direction of that ride where you sit in a circle and go flying around, spinning and upside down. “Hey, Jackson, do you want to go on the ferris wheel with me?” Jisu asked after she saw him eyeing it. Jackson brightened. “Yeah! Anyone else want to go on the ferris wheel?” He asked the remaining group members. “Oh, why not.” Mirae grumbled, still looking sleepy. “JB, I claim you as my partner.” She latched onto his arm. 

Jinyoung looked around. “I think I’ll sit this one out.” He mumbled. Mark looked like he was about to say the same thing, when Youngjae ran back. “Quick, let’s get on a ride before they come find me and force me on that thing.” He wailed, clinging onto Mark, who looked like his dreams of an easy life had just flown out the window. 

Luckily for them, the line for the ferris wheel wasn’t very long and they were able to board after just a couple minutes of waiting. “Tickets.” A handsome guy with dark skin and very white teeth held out his hand from where he stood leaning against the controls. Jisu handed over their pile of orange stubs. “Only two to a chair.” The guy added, frowning at them as if he thought three of them would really fit in one of those tiny chairs.

The first chair swung down empty and Jackson and Jisu boarded. Jisu felt strangely giddy at being so close as the bar swung down, trapping them in the chair together. They started moving upwards, the ground disappearing beneath their feet. She watched Youngjae and Mark board the next chair and then Mirae and JB the one after them, and then the guy rang the bell and announced all chairs were full and they’re full two rounds would be starting now.

As they climbed higher and higher, Jisu gazed out across the ground below them, the park and then the beach beyond it, water crashing on it lazily. “Wow, so pretty~” She said, trying to comb her hair back with her hands so she could see better from the wind blowing around. Jackson leaned over to see what view she had, accidentally kicking her injured leg. 

“Ouch!” Jisu quickly moved her leg to safety, feeling tears welling in her eyes. She hated that she cried so easily. It was annoying and it made her feel like Ah Ro from Hwarang. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” Jackson replied anxiously. “I didn’t mean to, does it hurt really bad?” “It can’t hurt that bad if I can walk regularly, now can it?” Jisu replied, though in reality it did hurt and she had to keep cleaning it to make sure it didn’t get infected. Stupid beach.

Jackson gave her puppy dog eyes. “I’m still sorry.” “Aigoo, why are you still apologizing? It was an accident.” She slapped him playfully, but he hugs her suddenly, resting his chin on top of her hair. As anyone would, Jisu tenses, taken by surprise. Jackson must have sensed her discomfort, because he sits back, untangled his arms from her waist. 

“What was that?” Jisu asks, hoping she doesn’t sound too harsh. Jackson licks his lips. “Um, I was trying to make you feel better?” He says, gazing up at the sky. Jisu raised her eyebrows and gave him a cool look. She’s about to respond, but the ferris wheel jerks to a stop and she falls against the bar, panicking for a moment because she thinks she’s about to slip out.

When the ferris wheel doesn’t start up again, Jisu risks a glance over the edge to see what’s going on. They’ve been stopped at the very top and the ground seems an awful long way down now that she’s not staring at the view, but straight down. Below them the guy is standing at the controls waving the stick that she supposes is used for making the ferris wheel move and yelling angrily at his rainbow haired friend. They were going to be up there for a while, that much was obvious.

Jisu tore her gaze away from the ground and looked out at the view again. She was suddenly very hyper aware of how her feet were dangling in empty air, how the whole chair was dangling in empty air, and everything suddenly felt a whole lot more unstable. “You’re shaking.” Jackson observes from where he’s been dropping change over the edge and seeing if he can hit random people’s heads. One time he hits Yugyeom’s and hides, but not before Yugyeom screams that he knows it was Jackson.

“I think I’ve developed a fear of heights by being stuck up here.” Jisu says in a small voice, feeling like she might throw up because the ground is spinning around and she’s pretty sure it’s not supposed to. “Then don’t look at the ground.” Jackson suggests, sounding very chill, and Jisu almost remarks sarcastically that it’s great that it’s that easy for him, but she can’t open her mouth without throwing up.

Jackson gets it. “Here.” He says and the next moment a sweatshirt lands over her head and Jackson yanks it down, pinning her arms to her side. “Now look at me.” He commanded, turning her chin so she made direct eye contact with him. “This is so hot. How do you wear it all day?” Jisu whined, squirming in the sweatshirt and managing to get her arms through the sleeves. She may or may not have accidentally whapped him in the face with one of the sleeves, but if that happened she didn’t talk about it.

“You forget about the ground soon enough, right?” Jackson says with an almost teasing tone in his voice. Jisu immediately looked down at the ground, then slapped him when she realized he had tricked her into doing that. Jackson pulled her closer, mumbling an apology, and Jisu snuggled in, feeling strangely fuzzy and warm inside and it wasn’t just because of the sweatshirt. 

She was looking up at him and moving back so they could meet each other's eyes again when the ferris wheel started up, making them slam unceremoniously into each other. And their lips accidentally met. For a span of at least five seconds.

Jackson’s lips were soft against her’s, parted in surprise. Jisu felt the breath knocked out of her as she pulled away, staring up at him. Jackson was staring at her, then he slowly smiled as he met her scared expression. Before she knew it his arm was around her waist and he pulled her in, kissing her again. It was slower this time and Jisu melted into it, but it ended as quickly as it had begun.

Jisu hugged herself, burrowing into the sweatshirt and risking a glance up at Jackson. He was looking out across the park which was coming to meet them, but Jisu could also see a smile spreading across his features until he looked giddy with happiness. Jisu secretly smiled to herself, putting her sweater paws over her mouth to cover a laugh that was bubbling up inside of her.

The chair stopped, ruining the moment completely, and the guy threw the bar up and nearly hit Jackson in the head because he was trying to stand up when the guy was still putting the bar up. Jisu saw the rainbow haired guy in charge of the controls looking grumpy. “Can I go yet Kai?” He yelled. “It’s so hot!” 

Kai, the guy, turned and yelled back; “I am also hot! And sticky! And sweaty! And probably going to get fired for almost breaking the controls! So you can stay and finish my shift because Chanyeol and Baekhyun are going to ride a roller coaster with me! So there.” He stuck out his tongue childishly, which the friend returned. Jisu finally let the laugh out, but quickly shut up when they both turned to look at her.

“Let’s go.” Jackson grabbed her wrist and Jisu was suddenly much more aware of how his touch felt, and how it made her feel. Mark, Youngjae, Mirae, and JB ran to catch up with them, panting. Mirae was talking to JB about how cute that guy named Kai had been, but Jisu saw her send a gaze to Jisu that meant that she would have to spill immediately when they got back and had private time. Probably at their midnight meeting that night.

Jisu smiled to herself and let Jackson tug her along. She touched her lips to make sure it hadn’t been a joke, but strangely enough she could feel where their lips had touched. Twice. Yeah, she was definitely in love with Jackson. And not in the best friend way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um I hope it was cute enough? Leave comments, subscribe, and kudos jabel!


	14. Dreamin', part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 kudos yay! (Let us aim for 50 next ;)  
> This is more fun and fluff (rip Yugyeom's life)

JB really hated his friends. They were passing the dunk tank and somebody, probably Yugyeom and BamBam decided that it would be fun to do it. Except the guy was just leaving, toweling off his hair. 

“Wait!” Somin grabbed the guy’s arm and he sent her a death glare. She let go. “Are you leaving?” He nodded. “I am done with my friends who left me after sending me into the water fifty times. I am done with being dunked and Sehun is stuck at the ferris wheel so he’s not coming for the next shift. Good bye. Find someone else to sit there.” He stormed off, still grumbling about his friend Sehun.

Youngjae looked deflated. “Aw. We can’t do the dunk tank?” He looked around, as if waiting for someone to volunteer. Jackson tapped his chin. “JB! You do it!” JB sighed. He wondered if he just had the face that was made for being forced to do things no one else wanted to do. “No.” He grumbled, but they all looked at him sadly. “Why me?” He protested.

“You're the oldest!” Youngjae pointed out brightly. “Mark is the oldest.” JB grumbled, wondering how Youngjae could have forgotten that conversation so quickly. “Mark is a guest.” Jackson said and before JB knew it they were shoving him up the ladder and collecting tennis balls, a whole bunch of them just for the prospect of dunking JB.

He climbed the ladder and sat on the chair, hoping it malfunctioned and didn’t dump him when someone hit the bull's eye. His friends lined up, smacking the tennis balls on their palms and eying him threateningly. JB decided he would not be scared of them and chose to believe that none of them had good aim.

Mirae was up first. His life was over. She wound up, eyes narrowed as she focused on the bulls eye and the ball in her hand. JB closed his eyes as she threw it, hearing the smack as it hit the target somewhere. Nothing happened at first and he opened his eyes, sighing in relief that she had actually missed for the first time in her life.

Since Mirae hadn’t missed a target once in her life, that should have been a sign of the machine’s malfunctioning, because a second later the chair pitched him forward into the water. Which was freezing. JB held his breath and sank down to the bottom where he sat cross legged and tried to meditate to get rid of his anger. It was a trick his mom had taught him. The only good thing his mom had ever taught him.

He could hear his friends voices, wondering if they should go check on him and maybe a tennis ball accidentally hit his head. They were extremely stupid. Only one tennis ball had been thrown and it was lying at the bottom with him. A shadow leaned over the top of the water and JB could make out that it was Mirae. A revenge plan came to mind.

A second later he shot up, startling Mirae who stumbled off balance. JB used her indecision to grab her and tug her headfirst over the side. She splashed into the water with a shriek that got cut off as she swallowed a mouthful of water. JB pulled her down with him and she kicked him in the shins wildly, glaring daggers at him, cheeks ballooned out. 

One of their friends must have found the machine with the water controls, because the water started spinning around whirlpool style. Mirae was forced to cling onto JB as they spun around, head over heels. He could feel every curve, the smoothness of her hand as it clutched his arm. Also the sharpness of her fingernails as they dug into his arm, and her legs, which were kicking his legs wildly.

Someone turned the machine off and he could hear laughter floating up in the air. Surfacing, JB spit out water and shoved wet hair off his forehead. Mirae surfaced to, immediately starting to scream at Yugyeom, who had a slightly guilty look on his face and apparently slightly guilty was enough to be accused.

JB climbed out of the dunk tank, sprawling on the ground as water puddled out from under him. Mirae did too, falling on the warm pavement beside him. “That water was freezing.” She muttered, teeth chattering. JB smiled. “Then I guess we should really stop getting so close in and around water.” Mirae looked at him weirdly and JB realized that it had sounded a bit weird.

“You’re the one who grabbed me.” She pointed out, wringing out her ponytail directly in his face. JB spit out water, also standing up. “You're the one who sent me into the water in the first place.” He retaliated. She wrinkled her nose, and took the towel Mark offered to them. “It was the only one I could find.” Mark smiled apologetically and Mirae nodded. “We can share.” She told him, standing up and offering JB a hand, almost falling over as she tried to pull hi8m up. JB found that insulting. He didn’t weigh that   
much more than she did. 

“Who wants food?” Jinyoung asked, texting on his phone again. He was so antisocial. JB kind of wanted to throw his phone in the water. He resisted the urge and instead raised his hand along with everyone else except Mirae because she didn’t eat a lot. She instead gave him a part of the towel, using most of it for herself. JB knew it was fighting a losing battle, so he took the little bit he had and tried to put it over his shoulders. It only fit one shoulder. He choose to believe that he had broad shoulders instead of too little towel.

They moved over to the food court, walking up to order something. A short guy peered up at them. He resembled a cat. “What do you want?” He asked tiredly. “Dippin dots.” Mirae said excitedly. “Oreo flavored and sprinkle flavored.” She ordered and JB was surprised that she remembered his favorite dippin dots flavor. It had been over a year since they had had them, since dippin dots were only sold at amusement parks.

The man gave it to them after nearly falling into the freezer-oh the whims of being short-and Mirae made JB unwrap her spoon. “We’re sharing idiot.” She added as they sat at a table. JB nodded, it wasn’t like he had expected anything different. As Yugyeom passed them he sent them a heart. 

Scratch what JB had said earlier. He didn’t sometimes hate his friends. He hated them all the time.

~

Yugyeom sat down next to Youngjae with his hot dog and ice cream cone. He started on the ice cream first so it wouldn’t melt, and watched his friends. They had taken over the tables that were in the middle of the space with the food vendors. Somin and BamBam were sitting at a table for two, sharing a giant cotton candy cone. Mirae, JB, and Jinyoung were sitting at another one, though Jinyoung had his earbuds in and seemed content to ignore his friends. Jackson, Mark, and Jisu were sitting at the third table, both Jackson and Jisu were smiley and giggly while Mark had an expression that conveyed he was very much aware he was basically third wheeling on an almost couple.

That left Yugyeom and Youngjae to sit at the last table. Yugyeom couldn’t help but feel a little hurt that Somin and BamBam hadn’t invited him to sit with them, but they were a couple, and BamBam was still subtly pushing him out, so he just licked his ice cream around and around. 

Somin and BamBam were sharing a large cotton candy as aforementioned, eating separate edges of the pink fluffy ball. They ate and ate until there were only a few tufts remaining on the stick, separating them. Then they ate that too, kissing as they met up. They had those blissful expressions on their faces that Yugyeom saw on couples when they kissed. It occurred to him that he had never experienced that.

“Aren’t they so cute?” Youngjae had a proud expression on his face as he creepily watched the kiss that was lasting way too long for Yugyeom’s comfort. “Sure.” Ice cream dripped onto his hand and Yugyeom quickly licked around the edges until the ice cream wasn’t in danger of melting on his hands anymore. Youngjae gazed at him with a solemn look. “You don’t look very happy.”

Yugyeom coughed, leaning away. Youngjae was nice and all and had a very hearty laugh and back slap, but sometimes he was a little too chatty for Yugyeom’s taste, and he seemed to find out things nobody else knew. “Do you ever feel like we’re just third wheeling on three couples?” He asked instead, motioning around at their friends. Somin and BamBam were the only real couple, but anyone could see that JB was in love with Mirae and Jackson and Jisu were totally in the puppy love phase.

“Yeah. It’s just couple central here.” Youngjae remarked, scrunching his nose up. Yugyeom looked at him in surprise. He hadn’t expected that sarcastic phrase to come from Youngjae’s mouth of all people. “Oh, and I have some gossip if you haven’t heard it all ready.” Youngjae added, leaning in conspiratorially and dropping his voice. Yugyeom realized that he had no one else to talk to, and that was kind of sad, but he might as well hear what Youngjae had to say. 

“Go ahead.” Yugyeom said. “Okay. So you know how Jackson and Jisu were sitting next to each other on the ferris wheel?” Youngjae started. Yugyeom nodded, rubbing his head ruefully. “He dropped change on my head. It actually hurts a lot when it falls from up there!” It hadn’t been one coin either, but a whole handful. At least he had gotten exactly eighty six cents richer. Not that he had a lot of money to begin with, but eighty six cents mattered in the long run. 

“Well I was sitting behind them with Mark and had nothing better to do because I couldn’t be on the ground, you guys might have tried to kidnap me!” Youngjae continued his story, which was most likely going to be long at this rate. Yugyeom thought he was being a bit extreme, they wouldn't have forced him too, but they had needed pairs. That ended up with him having to go twice, and both rides were uncomfortable and throw up worthy. He had held it in to look like a man, then found a trash can once out of sight. 

“So since I had nothing better to do I just watched them because it’s so interesting that no one’s made a move, you know?” Yugyeom nodded, even though he really didn’t know. Youngjae was strange, it was better to not question him. “Then the ferris wheel stops, and they’re at the very top. I forgot to thank that guy by the way, I’ll have to buy him a giant teddy bear or something. Back to the story, Jisu’s scared of heights or something and then Jackson is being super touchy and huggy and all and giving her a sweatshirt and lovesick crap.”

Youngjae draws in a deep breath. He talks really fast and if Yugyeom wasn’t so accustomed to his way of talking, he would have had a hard time following. “Okay, the best part is coming. So the ferris wheel starts up again, kind of violently.” Youngjae has an almost maniacal look on his face. He gets way too into telling his stories.  
"And then since they were being so close-THEY ACCIDENTALLY KISSED!” Youngjae shrieks the last part and the whole group turns and looks at them. Jackson and Jisu glare at him, as if they know he’s talking about them. I mean, who else has accidentally kissed? Youngjae sent them all a blinding smile and then lowered his voice, leaning in even closer. Yugyeom licked his ice cream and tried not to scoot his chair back from the table to get some space. He didn’t want to seem rude.

“But that is not the end. After that accidental kiss and Jisu’s all like ‘OMG did we just kiss’ and Jackson’s all like ‘OMG I’m super happy’, he leans in and kisses her! One of those slow mo kisses that are totally old fashioned ballroom kisses with hands on waist and way more than a light five second one. More like twenty seconds. The end, and this folks has been episode fifty six of Youngjae the gossip girl.” He turns away from Yugyeom, as if facing an imaginary camera. Yugyeom wants to ask about the episode fifty six part, but he doesn’t really want to know how many things Youngjae has found out about them and spread across the internet.

Yugyeom turns back to the drama that is his friends and Somin and BamBam are still kissing, he doesn’t know if they broke it and then started again or if they’ve been kissing this whole time. Jisu and Jackson are sharing straws and JB and Mirae are stealing bites of each other’s dippin dots. Even Mark and Jinyoung keep glancing up at each other and making eye contact, even though he really doesn’t consider them a couple. He wonders if someone walking by will think he and Youngjae are a couple.

He really hopes not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning the next chapter is going to be....you will have to read it to see, but look forward to it  
> Comment and leave kudos!


	15. Don't Care, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's been too long again mian :(  
> ALSO I LOVE THIS CHAPTER  
> Literally this is when it gets so good (in my opinion) and everything becomes a giant angsty mess basically (sounds just like me :D)  
> Don't get too mad at me~

When I walk over and stand in front of you  
When we meet eyes and look at each other  
Don’t avoid my eyes,   
where are you looking?  
Don’t turn your head, let me see your face  
~Don’t Care, GOT7

BamBam throws back a cup of punch as he scrolls through pictures taken earlier in the day on his phone. It’s the day after the amusement park and since they had nothing to do until the party he was currently at that Jackson had mysteriously gotten an invite to, they had explored the small beach town. Once again in groups, they had taken a bunch of ridiculous pictures and videos after doing something crazy, one of them being jumping into a dumpster after trying to escape Chanyeol, who had some friends with him that included some guy named Kai and maybe Bacon, but BamBam wasn’t sure if he had heard that right.

He’s lost his friends, he thinks that maybe Jackson treated Jisu to a dance and Somin got into some competition with Youngjae, but he’s not entirely sure. He hasn’t been paying attention, just avoiding everyone. Parties are a bad memory in his mind, bad memory of what has almost been three weeks ago.

BamBam’s still avoiding Yugyeom. He’s made it subtle so that his friend’s don’t notice that something is up, but it's enough that they haven’t met face to face and talked about it yet. BamBam doesn’t want to talk about it. He doesn’t want to think about it, or have anything to do with it ever again. 

Some girl comes up to him and starts trying to hit, but BamBam shoves her off and exits the room, finding himself in the almost empty kitchen, tucked in a corner of the house. The lights are dim, but he doesn’t mind, because it’s quiet and away from the people and skin that sparkles with sweat from close contact with everyone else. He hasn’t drank anything yet and he doesn’t plan to, except maybe some of that non alcoholic punch. It was strangely delicious and he’s pretty sure it’s been spiked, so maybe he won’t have anymore of that.

There’s a soft pitter pattering of shoes and Yugyeom enters the kitchen through the only exit, leaning against it. BamBam looks up and his breath catches. He hadn’t been paying attention to Yugyeom, but now that they’re facing each other he sees that Yugyeom has on the outfit they made him buy at the mall. It seems like a million years ago, but BamBam remembers the day clearly now that he sees Yugyeom in that yellow orange shirt with **MY SWAGGER** on it and the ripped black jeans that have rips over his thighs and knees, showing too much skin.

BamBam himself has on a leopard print shirt, tucked into his own unripped black jeans and sparkly heeled boots with silver stones embedded all over them. He’s styled his hair up, put on his signature eyeliner, and he sees that Yugyeom’s washed his hair and it’s dried fluffy over his forehead. Yugyeom’s wearing no makeup, but then again he’s never really needed makeup, and he has on black combat boots, lace up, and it makes him even taller.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Yugyeom said, crossing his arms. He’s still blocking the exit and BamBam can’t leave so he has no choice but to put his phone away and reply; “No I haven’t.” Yugyeom sighs. “Yes you have, and don’t think that I haven’t noticed or that I don’t know why.”

“If you knew why, you would just leave me alone.” BamBam tells him guardedly. Yugyeom closes his eyes briefly. “Can we please just talk about what happened?” He asks, sounding tired. “It’s been over two weeks and we haven’t even mentioned it. I can't take this much longer.” 

BamBam fiddled with his choker as he tried to find something to say. “I was drunk. You were drunk. There’s nothing else to say.” He told Yugyeom coldly. Yugyeom broke away from the doorframe. “I might’ve been drunk, but I wasn’t lying.” He says quietly and BamBam had expected something like this, but it still makes him grab the counter for balance.

Yugyeom continues on. “I really like you BamBam. I’ve been in love with you for years and I know I shouldn’t have kissed you, because we’re best friends, but you don’t get it. I get that you have a great girlfriend, but don't you understand that it kills me to see you with someone else?” He’s crying, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeves. BamBam stares at him. “I…..” He’s not sure what to say, what he was going to say. He had a plan on how to handle this, but it’s gone now.

“Can’t we just forget about it and go back to being friends?” Yugyeom asks through sobs and BamBam’s heart almost breaks, because Yugyeom’s so desperate to fix this, but BamBam knows it’s not going to be fixed and things aren’t going to be the same as they were before. “It’s never going to be the same as it was before. You overstepped. I’m not forgiving that and I’m not forgetting either.” BamBam tells him and Yugyeom cries harder.

“Even if we go back to being friends again, is that going to make your feelings magically disappear?” BamBam questions, trying to seem aloof and uncaring. “I texted you and I tried to convince myself that you weren’t avoiding me.” Yugyeom starts around tears, collecting himself enough to talk. “I know you think I kissed you because I was drunk, but I’m not drunk now and I still want to kiss you. My feelings weren’t a one time thing, I don’t want this to be a one time thing or a drunk party thing.” 

BamBam’s not drunk and he knows Yugyeom isn't, but a part of him was hoping it was a drunk thing. It would be so much easier if it was a slip up when drunk. “I’m dating Somin.” BamBam reminds him gently. Yugyeom nods, sniffling. “I know. That’s why I’ve just gone along with you avoiding me, because I know it’s better for you guys to be happy, but I hate watching. I hate watching you guys having fun and laughing and kissing and stuff, when I know I’m never going to be able to do any of that.”

“I think it would be better for both of us if we break apart.” BamBam decides and Yugyeom’s whole body seems to slump. “Quietly of course, so our friends won’t question. I just think it would be the best for both of us.” Yugyeom looks crushed, but he straightens and rubs his face. “I guess I’ll just leave then. If you really feel like that’s the best, I should just go before I continue making an embarrassing mess of myself.” 

He turns to leave, but BamBam panics and finds himself grabbing Yugyeom’s arm and yanking him back until they’re hugging and Yugyeom is crying again. BamBam has no idea what to do, because he feels weird and Yugyeom is still sobbing into his shoulder, making the younger seem vulnerable, something he hardly lets anyone do. 

Muffled by his shoulder, Yugyeom says; “Why are you hugging me? If my feelings are this much a joke to you, if you don’t even know what this makes me feel, can you just let me leave? It’ll be easier, exactly like you said if I leave and we break this up instead of dragging it out. It’s obvious you don’t care enough to try and save this.” 

BamBam reaches and tilts Yugyeom’s chin up so they can meet each other’s eyes. Yugyeom’s are light brown and look violet when they catch the light, brimming with tears. “I never said that I didn’t care.” BamBam hears himself say, and then, without thinking about what he’s about to do, he leans forward and kisses Yugyeom.

It’s short and sweet and when he pulls back Yugyeom is staring at him, shocked. He crumples against BamBam, sobbing harder and BamBam buries his face in his soft black hair and lets silent tears slip down his cheeks. He thinks he sees someone disappear from around the corner and he starts to get up, but Yugyeom is still crying, tears seeping through the fabric of BamBam’s shirt.

BamBam lets himself sob too, because he’s even more confused than he was and he’s dating Somin, he’s in love with her. So why does this, Yugyeom clinging to him, the kiss a few seconds ago, feel so right?

~

Jisu is tired from dancing, her feet are aching and she’s long since ditched her tall stilettos in favor of comfort. She decides to go find Jackson. They haven’t really had a chance to talk about the kiss and what that makes them, girlfriend and boyfriend or not? If it had only been the first accidental one she could have brushed it off, but when Jackson kissed her the second time-that definitely hadn’t been an accident.

Jackson is by the snack table, watching Somin wreck the dance floor with her moves. Jisu steals a cracker with that yummy spreadable cheese on it from him and eats it, smiling when Jackson looks up at her with an indignant look on his face. “That was my cracker.” He said, pouting and Jisu smiled wider, chewing slowly and deliberately in his face.

After she had eaten the rest of his crackers and they’d both cheered appreciatively when Somin had slapped a guy trying to hit on her and then accidentally kicked JB, who had been coming to rescue her, Jisu decided to broach the topic. “So, Jackson.” She said, twisting her golden ring on the fourth finger of her right hand nervously.

He looked up, a question in his eyes. Jisu cleared her throat, her voice almost gone. She hadn’t been nervous after it had happened yesterday, but it seemed the panicking stage of _did he mean to do it or was he just not sure how to reciprocate?_ stage came the next day. “You know yesterday, on the ferris wheel, when we, um..” She trailed off, then resigned herself again and quickly finished. “We kissed accidentally and then you kissed me back and I guess this is a good time to tell you that I actually….”

She paused again, drawing in a deep breath. _Just get it over with, Jisu._ Jackson was sipping his water, looking rather nervous, and she smiled warmly at him and hoped it didn’t look totally forced. “I have a huge crush on you. I have for over a year and I wasn’t brave enough to tell you because I was scared of rejection and our friendship being ruined. I’m guessing that you feel the same way, since you kissed me back, but I don’t want to make assumptions.” 

Jackson bites his lip and Jisu finds herself staring at the movement. She peeled her eyes away as soon as she realized she was staring and hoped Jackson hadn’t noticed. “Jisu, I like you, I really do.” Jackson said and Jisu’s heart leapt before she could tell it not to. “I kissed you back because it felt right in the moment, but now reflecting on it….” He trails off too and Jisu holds her breath because she thought it was going fine, but now it seems to be changing.

“But I don’t like you like that. I don’t think I can ever really like any girl like that.” Jackson finishes and Jisu’s throat closes. She doesn't even process the last sentence, can only hear _I don’t like you like that_. Standing up, she grabbed her shoes by the straps and turned to leave. Jackson stood up too. “Jisu, wait.” He sounds panicked and raw, but Jisu can already feel tears slipping down her cheeks and she doesn’t want him to see her cry again. She wants to seem like she doesn’t care, but in reality she cares to much and her heart is breaking into a thousand pieces.

“See you later.” She says, her voice coming out strangled, and brushes him off as he tries to grab her shoulder and turn her around. She walks through the ground blindly, mumbling apologies to people she bumps into and walks until she finds Mirae sitting at one of the bar stools, staring ahead.

“I’m leaving.” Jisu tells her and Mirae slips of the stool. “Me too. I’m ready to get out of here.” Jisu barely notices that she’s acting strange, quieter, chewing on her fingernails. “But Jackson drove us.” Mirae says, stopping. Jisu shrugs. “We can walk.” She tries not to sound angry at the thought of Jackson, but fails. 

They bump into Mark. “Leaving so soon?” He asks cheerfully, smiling. Jisu looks up at him and she remembers what Jackson said after he said that he didn’t like her like that and she wonders if Mark is one of the reasons. Mirae nods. “We’re walking back.” Mark looks worried. “Alone?” He asks, forehead creasing. Mirae nods again. “I’ll come with you guys, wait just a second.” Mark says, backtracking over to Youngjae and whispering in his ear. Youngjae nods as he dances crazily, hat in hand. 

Mark returned. “Let’s go. I know how to get back, so don’t worry.” Jisu’s glad because she certainly didn’t know the way back and didn’t want to have to ask for directions. It’s demeaning. 

It’s cool outside and Jisu continues to walk in her bare feet, feeling the grainy texture of the sidewalk beneath her. Her shoes dangle from her hand as she walks between Mark and Mirae. “So, why did you guys leave early?” She asks to fill the silent air between them all. Mark shrugs. “I’m not a fan of parties. I’ll take any out I can get.” He grins and his eyes crinkle. 

Mirae kicks a rock with the toe of her boot. “I…” She sounds like she’s about to say something else, but switches it quickly. “I got bored and I'm really tired. I want to sleep.” She does look pale and tired, but more in the weighty way instead of the sleepy way. “What about you?” She asks and Jisu almost starts crying again, but she doesn’t.

“Jackson doesn’t like me that way.” She says quietly, but they both catch it. “I’m sorry.” Mark tells her and Mirae just squeezes her hand reassuringly. Jisu stares straight ahead. She won’t cry. Not tonight.

~

Jackson starts getting worried when he doesn’t spot Jisu anywhere. “Hey, do you know where Jisu is?” He asks Youngjae, who stops dancing and adjusts his hat. “Mark told me that she, Mirae, and him were leaving early.” He says simply and Jackson almost strangles him. “Walking?” He asks instead and Youngjae nods. “Crap. It’s like five miles to get back home.” Jackson mumbles under his breath, more to himself, but Youngjae responds with a dismissive; “They’ll be fine.”

“Let’s just go.” Jackson says instead, grabbing Youngjae and dragging him around as they go to find the others. Somin has to be literally pulled away from the dance floor and JB and Jinyoung are hiding upstairs, all of his friends are so antisocial seriously. Yugyeom and BamBam are sitting in silence in the kitchen and if Jackson notices that both of them are red eyed and puffy, he doesn’t comment on it. He can’t think about anything but Jisu and how hurt and upset she was.

A couple minutes later, the maknae line is crammed in the back again while Youngjae stretches out with Jinyoung in the middle rows. JB is in shotgun, and Jackson throws the car into gear. He’s not sure where they would be by now, but he’s not letting all three of them walk all the way home. It would take over two hours. 

He knows it’s his fault Jisu left and he needs to fix it. He shouldn’t have said that, and he most certainly shouldn't have told her that he didn't like any girl like that. Outing himself like that, it wasn't exactly a smart move because no one else knows except Mark, and he knows Mark won’t tell, but he can’t vouch that Jisu won’t tell Somin and Mirae. Then Somin and Mirae will let it slip somehow to their friends and then it’s all messy and soon everyone will know.

“There they are!” Youngjae cries, pointing to three figures walking by the side of the bridge. Jackson tries to slow down beside them, but the road in front of him starts blurring. Jackson tries to shake himself awake, he can't be falling asleep now, but then his hands slip from the steering wheel and he passes out.

The car goes straight off the the side of the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was it good? How do you feel about the Yugbam? Send me some predictions in the comments people!  
> As usual, comments and kudos and subscribe (and check out my other fanfics especially the Mix Nine one because it needs love like no one knows it exists)


	16. Don't Care, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute and fluffy Markson you're welcome <3  
> Thanks for 1.5k hits~

Mark stares in shock as the car shots off the bridge right in front of them, the railing crumpling. He hears a splash down below and for a second he can’t breath. He knows it was Jackson’s car. He knows what Jackson’s car looks like by heart. “Oh my gosh.” Mirae whispers and that’s all Mark needs to strip off his jacket and dive into the water. Jisu screams behind him, but Mark focuses on his form. He was on swim and dive team for seven years, and can hold his breath for at least ten minutes.

The car is still sinking, the windows half shattered and the front fender slammed into something beyond recognition. Mark strokes downward, finding the window most shattered and he reaches through it, managing to pull Jinyoung out. Youngjae is weakly using his hat to protect his hand and punch through a window and Mark should stop and help them, but Jinyoung is limp and unconscious in his arms. Blood is swirling through the water from a gash on his side from broken glass and slamming into the side of the door.

Steeling himself, Mark kicked upward, holding onto Jinyoung with all his might. His lungs feel like they might explode and he sees the surface above him, but it’s so far away. Putting on a burst of speed, he broke it, gasping. A ladder falls over the side of the bridge and Mark grabs it, letting them pull him up. Emergency people are already there, yelling instructions, and one of them helps him up. They take Jinyoung, rushing him to a stretcher and Mark staggers as he stands, moving to go back into the water.

The emergency person holds him back. “You can’t go back in there son!” He yells over the roar of engines and ambulances and water crashing below. “My friends are trapped!” Mark tells him, but his legs give up and he sinks to the ground. He’s freezing and   
maybe in shock, he knows he’s cold but he can't feel anything at the moment except numbness. Jisu and Mirae run over and Jisu is shaking. Mirae is talking to the emergency official, saying something sharply.

More people who dove into the water come up and Mark almost cries with relief when he sees Youngjae squeezing water out of his hat and insisting he’s fine and Yugyeom stumbling as he supports an unconscious BamBam, who has to be torn away from a screaming Somin. JB seems unharmed too, most likely because of being in the prime spot with an airbag. Mirae flings herself into his arms, crying hard.

Mark doesn’t see Jackson and he’s panicking when they finally bring him up. He makes his legs work and manages to stumble over and run to his stretcher, clinging to it. He’s too pale, the bronze tint to his skin gone, and has a cut on his forehead. Mark doesn't see him breathing and he almost freaks out, but instead slips into the ambulance with him. He shouldn’t leave the others alone there, but Jackson needs him. 

The ride seems to take too long and Mark runs along with the stretcher as nurses move Jackson quickly through the hallway. They make him wait in a small room outside of the ER and his friends get there. Someone, maybe Jisu, tells him that they hospitalized BamBam, Jinyoung, and Youngjae also. He registers it, but he still waits for them to call his name.

When they finally announced that Jackson is stable and he can go see him, Mark sinks down in the hard plastic chair beside the hospital bed. It’s white and awful and even though Mark hates hospitals, he tells himself that he’s sitting there until Jackson wakes up. It’s what Jackson did for him, for three months, so Mark doesn’t care if it takes a year, because he’s waiting.

“Jackson.” Mark starts out, because he doesn't want to sit in silence. He feels unbelievably guilty, because why did he save Jinyoung instead of Jackson? It doesn't make sense, because he hates Jinyoung and Jackson is his best friend. A part of him says that maybe he doesn’t hate Jinyoung as much as he thinks, but Mark pushes it away in favor of continuing his one sided conversation.

“I’m sorry I didn’t save you. I hope you’re okay, and I hope you know that I’m staying here until you wake up. Thank you for doing the same to me, by the way. I don’t know if I ever told you that, since I got whisked away to America as soon as I was okay enough. I don’t know why you came after us. I don’t know why you lost control, because even though you drive really fast, you would never risk anyone’s life.” The words are a blubbering mess.

The door opens and interrupts his monologue. Mark looks up at the nurse who walks in timidly. She hands him a clipboard with several sheets of paper. “Sir, these are his reports if you would like to see them.” “Thank you.” Mark murmured, flipping through them as she left. He skimmed most of them, but his eyes landed on one word.

Anemia. Deadly anemia that included hemorrhaging and fatigue and caused Jackson to pass out sometimes. Anemia that gave him only a year or so left to live. The clipboard dropped to the floor and Mark stared at it, then back at Jackson. The reports said that he’d had if for at least two years. Why hadn’t he told Mark? Why hadn’t Mark noticed that he’d been sick? 

“You idiot.” Mark told the unconscious Jackson. “You _idiot._ How could you have kept this from me? You’re going to die and you didn’t even tell your best friend? Do your parents know? Does anyone know?” He started crying, and Mark never cried. He had learned from Jinyoung that crying only marked you as weak, and made you a target. He had only cried once before, when he had woken up from his three month coma and realized how his life had been ruined.

He almost didn’t notice when Jackson grabbed his hand and clasped it. Mark looked down through his tears to Jackson, who smiled at him quietly before scooting over and patting the spot beside him on the bed. Mark obeyed, slipping off his shoes and climbing in beside him. It was raised in a strange way, but he curled up and pulled the blankets up over him. 

“You look tired. And wet.” Jackson murmured with a sleepy sound to his voice, making it rough around the edges. “I dove into the water.” Mark replied, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. “Rest.” Jackson commanded forcefully. Mark smiled. “Whatever you say captain.” He did a mini salute because his limbs felt like lead.

Jackson just threw an arm over him and Mark let himself nod off. It didn’t escape his attention that Jackson hadn’t let go of his hand. But then again, Mark hadn’t pulled away either.

~

JB slipped the two quarters into the drink machine, stooping to pick up the two Yakurutos that rattled into the bottom of it. Standing up, he walked over to the hard backed red chairs in the small waiting room, sitting down besides Mirae and handing her one of the drinks, poking the straw through it for her. 

They were the only people in the ER. Yugyeom was sitting besides Somin, knees pulled up to his chest and hands buried in his hair. Somin was still on and off crying with Jisu comforting her. “Thanks.” Mirae mumbled quietly, sipping slowly. JB glanced at her worriedly. She hadn’t made a single snappy or sarcastic remark the whole night, even when JB had tripped over a stretcher and almost gotten banned from the hospital. Instead she’d been quiet and tiny. Her eyes had shadows underneath them and her skin   
was pale, even for her. He could tell she was tired, but she hadn’t slept yet.

“You’re welcome.” JB knew the response was a bit late, but he had to say something to fill the silence. It was deafening, if that was even possible, and it made him uncomfortable. The door opened and Youngjae came out, looking even more happy than he had earlier. For someone that had just been discharged from a hospital that was. 

“I told them I was fine but they had to check me up, they should’ve just listened to me.” Youngjae rambled on as he flopped down next to Jisu. JB tunes him out in favor of watching Mirae again. She feels his gaze, looking up questioningly. “What?” JB looks away quickly. “You’re pretty.” He tells her, because she sort of made an effort to dress up for the party, putting on black jeans and a loose pink blouse with her beat up high tops, since she never wears nice shoes. She’s put her hair in it’s signature ponytail and had on eyeliner, but it ran off. 

Her mouth parts in an ‘oh’. “Are you joking?” She asks him suspiciously and JB blinks, because he was expecting a thank you. “Um, no?” He tries, because he’s not really sure how to respond. Mirae hits him. “You shouldn’t be such a flirt.” She says playfully, her mood lifted slightly and JB’s glad for that, even if it was at his expense.

A nurse comes out and walks over to JB. “Here are the reports on your friends Jackson Wang, Park Jinyoung, Kunpimook Bhuwakul, and Choi Youngjae.” JB sighs, looking at the thick packet. He skips Youngjae’s, since Youngjae is obviously fine and starts reading BamBam’s. It says something about having to give him oxygen, but JB doesn’t care about BamBam that much so he just passes it off to Somin and Yugyeom to read. Somin starts crying again after she reads the first word, and she just stopped a second ago so it’s a tiny bit annoying to JB. Enough to make his eye twitch.

Jinyoung’s states that he just woke up and is going to be okay, but they’re still running tests on him. He’s lucky that Mark got him out in time or it would’ve been a lot worse from what JB’s reading. Jackson’s is last and JB remembers that Mark is visiting him. He’s been gone a long time. JB stops reading when he gets to the part that Jackson has been previously diagnosed with anemia and it’s deadly and it’s going to kill him. 

He shows it to the others, and they read it wordlessly. Mirae starts crying, gasping sobs and JB has no idea what to do. He tries rubbing her back, but she continues crying. “What’s wrong?” He asks her finally when she hasn’t stopped crying. “I knew.” She says him and JB doesn’t get it for a second, but then he does. “He told me not to tell anyone and I listened stupidly because I thought he was fine and I believed him when he said he had it under control.” 

JB doesn’t think that it was because he didn’t have control that Jackson passed out, it was because of previous stress and most likely leftover tiredness and not enough calcium or whatever, but he doesn’t think that will help Mirae feel better so he doesn’t tell her. Instead he pats her hair and tells her it’s going to be fine, because what else can he really do?

Another nurse pokes her head out of the door. “One visitor is allowed for Kunpimook Bhuwakul.” She butchers his name and JB can imagine BamBam’s face if he heard it pronounced like that. Yugyeom starts to get up, but Somin is already running towards the door and JB sees him slowly sink back down. Mirae is watching him too. “There are too many secrets.” She whispers, so quietly that JB doesn’t think that it was meant for anyone to hear.

Night fades into morning and several Yakurutos later, to stay awake. No one else has slept either, they don’t want to miss any news. People have come and gone and JB has witnessed what a sawed off arm looks like, making him completely lose his appetite for the breakfast he was about to have.

It’s around ten o’clock when Jinyoung and BamBam slip out, followed shortly by Jackson and Mark, who look sleepy but happy. JB’s eyes have started hurting a lot from the way too bright fluorescent lighting and he really wants to sleep. Jinyoung has bandages wrapped around his stomach, JB sees them when he stretches, and BamBam has a closed cut on his cheek, but otherwise they all look fine. 

Somin kisses BamBam immediately, that kind of kiss that is filled with worry and longing and it lasts too long for JB’s comfort, so he averts his eyes. He’s not really a fan of PDA. Jackson and Mark walk over to where Jinyoung has situated himself next to JB and where they’ve all ended up sitting, close to each other. 

“You guys need to go home and get some sleep.” He tells them all. Jackson and Mark certainly look well rested, like they took a really long nap. Everyone is looking up at him through heavy eyes, barely awake. Jackson shifts nervously. “We need to meet at the beach at five. Talk it out. It’s a surprise, so make sure to be there.” He points at all of them and makes eye contact. JB doesn’t question. 

“We’ll be there.” Mirae says. JB nods and Jackson looks relieved. “Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is so angst filled I don't even know (but I like it so much these are my favorite chapters because Vixx)


	17. Can't, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say that I love Jinyoung's part in this so much.

You have different eyes among people  
Who want others to be perfect  
I know that beyond your mask you are  
The only person who sees my true intentions  
You are the one  
~Can’t, GOT7 

 

It’s exactly five o’clock when Mirae reaches the beach. She had slept for about four hours when they got back, exhausted from the all night and morning stay in the waiting room. Then she had gone out and taken a long walk and eaten something quickly. Now, at the beach, it doesn’t take her long to find her friends as they’re the only ones there and there’s a giant crackling bonfire in the middle of a circle of logs. 

When she walks closer she sees that there’s something in front of each log. Sitting down next to Jisu and JB, she whispered to Jisu; “What’s going on?” Jisu shrugs, looking at the tiny cup of mini marshmallows in front of her log. “When Jackson gets back he’ll explain.” Mirae doesn’t even ask where Jackson has gone. 

Looking around, she sees Somin on the opposite side of the bonfire besides BamBam who is beside Yugyeom, who is beside Youngjae and doesn’t look happy about it. Mirae gets why he might not especially like Youngjae, he can be rather loud and chatty and not good at keeping secrets, but he’s a valuable friend. Maybe not a good lab partner, but Mirae was smart enough to make sure they got out of that pab alive, so it’s all cool between them even if Youngjae did burn his apron. It was an ugly apron anyways.

Jinyoung is sitting next to JB and Mark besides him, but there seems to be a lot of space between them as Mark is on the edge of his log and Jinyoung on the edge of his. Nobody is really talking, everyone is still tired because at most they’ve gotten six hours of sleep, she knows that BamBam and Somin were making out and talking for quite a while because they took over her, Somin, and Jisu’s room. 

Jackson bounds back, looking excited that everyone was there. Wind is blowing sand into Mirae’s sneakers and her butt is already starting to hurt from the tree stump seat and she really hopes this ends soon. But by the way Jackson is smiling she doubts it’s going to go the way she wants this to go.

“As you can see you each have a cup in front of you filled with ten mini marshmallows. These are essential, and if you have already eaten some of them, too bad because that means you are at a disadvantage.” Youngjae gulped a marshmallow with a guilty expression on his face. “Since the whole point of this beach trip was to talk things out and we haven’t really done that yet since a lot of other things have gotten in the way, we are doing that now with a fun game I like to call Never Have I Ever Played Truth Or Dare.” Jackson claps his hands again, rocking on his heels. Mirae doesn’t like the sound of this ‘fun game’.

BamBam blinked in confusion. “But we have played truth or dare?” Jackson sighed at BamBam’s stupidity. “Well, duh, I know that. This is a mix version. Somebody says, for example, never have I ever been on a roller coaster. Then if you have you have to eat a marshmallow and say a truth or something. Like you have to tell what your most embarrassing experience on a roller coaster was.”

“That’s not really truth or dare.” Somin points out and Jackson sends her a deadly stare. “I say it is, so shut up and let’s play. Anybody want to start?” He sits down next to Jinyoung and Mark moves over without having to be asked. The look of relief on his face doesn’t escape Mirae’s sharp eyes. Nobody volunteers and Jackson sighs. “JB, I vote for you. Who else does?” JB groans loudly to let everyone know that he hates them. Mirae knows that he doesn’t hate her, so it’s fine.

“Let me think. Okay, got it. Never have I ever been to America.” JB smirks at Jackson, who calmly eats a marshmallow along with Mark. “So how is it going to work?” Jisu asks. “Do we choose something for you guys to do?” Yugyeom raises his hand. “Can we make them go into the ocean for a certain amount of time?” Everyone looked at Yugyeom, who shrugged. “It’s just a suggestion.”

Jackson tilted his head. “Usually I’ll choose since I came up with the game, but since I have been unfairly targeted, you guys can choose something. I guess you want it to be a dare, but you know Mark and I really don’t mind getting soaked through the bone with chilling water and getting hypothermia, do we Mark?” Mark shook his head wordlessly, resigned to his fate, as JB protests. “I wasn’t targeting you if it involves two people!”

Mark and Jackson are already standing up and Mark takes off his coat and shoes, making Jackson do the same. Jackson removes his tan boots reluctantly, whispering something to them. Mirae isn’t really a shoe fan, she only needs her high tops and that’s it, so she finds it sort of strange that he cares about his shoes so much. He must have at least three pairs of the same type of boots.

They walk over to the surf, wading in slowly and then Mark dives in and leaves Jackson, who yells back; “How long do we need to stay in the water?” “Five minutes!” The maknae line yells collectively, evil expressions on their faces. They must really enjoy making their hyungs suffer. 

Mirae doodles in the sand with a stick, drawing a heart and then drawing an arrow over it. The night wind is chilly on the beach and the bonfire is heating up her face and legs. She’s glad she bought a hoodie though, because her arms are bare and have goosebumps already. JB watches her trace in the sand over her shoulder. “You don’t like hearts very much.” He observed. Mirae shrugged. “Not feeling it tonight.”

Jackson runs back screaming and dripping wet. “Did you leave Mark in there?” Jinyoung asks, sounding bored, but then again, he always does. Jackson stops. “Maybe. I’m sure he’ll be here in a second.” Sure enough, Mark came out a second later and hits Jackson with his wet plaid jacket. Jackson yelped like a hurt puppy, but it eventually settled down enough for Youngjae to raise his hand to go next.

“Never have I ever had a girlfriend.” He announces. BamBam, Mark, and JB take a marshmallow. “Wow, Jackson, Yugyeom, Jinyoung, you guys have been single this whole time?” Mirae raises an eyebrow. Youngjae never having a girlfriend isn’t really a surprise and she knew Jinyoung never dated anyone, but Jackson and Yugyeom have always been rather private about their relationships. Jackson looks distinctly uncomfortable. “I’ve just never had a girlfriend.” Mirae sees Jisu look down at the ground and she remembers what Jisu told her last night. _Jackson doesn’t like me like that._

Jackson jumps up. “I have a great idea. Everybody who took a marshmallow needs to kiss the person they like the most. BamBam, you start.” “That’s easy.” BamBam smirks and dips Somin in a kiss to a lot of oohs. Yugyeom scoots away to the very edge of his log. “Mark.” Jackson wiggles his eyebrows and Mark blushes. “I don’t like anyone in this circle.” “Hmmmm.” Jackson responded, leaning in and whispering something that makes Mark bury his face in his hands from embarrassment or not, Mirae can’t tell.

“JB!” Jackson starts clapping and singing some song and JB looks down. Mirae holds her breath and wonders if he’s going to say the same thing Mark said. But he does something else. He turns and kisses her. Her! Of all people! It’s one second and then he faces forward again, cheeks red. Mirae touches her lips, feeling her face red. Thankfully, she can just pass it off as the heat from the bonfire.

Jisu is having a fangirl moment with Somin, clinging to each other and screaming silently. They honestly care more about Mirae’s relationships than Mirae herself does, but she has long since resigned herself to that fact. “Well can anyone say that they were honestly not expecting that?” Jinyoung finally speaks up. He looks out of place with his phone and earbuds ripped away by Jackson when he had been caught trying to secretly listen to it. Since he doesn’t have earbuds he’s put up the hood of his navy  
sweatshirt and is trying to blend in with the darkness.

Mirae wants to say she wasn’t, but a part of her was really hoping that JB would have kissed her and it makes her feel weird. Fluttery and warm inside like she’s just drunk a huge vat of butterbeer. She’s always liked butterbeer, so it’s not a bad thing, but just a weird thing to feel around your best friend. If they’re still only best friends by now anyways.

~

Jinyoung is trying to imagine that he’s somewhere not on a beach with a bonfire and all of his friends. Somewhere preferably like his room with the door locked and bubble tea and a never ending charge on his phone. He wants his phone back and he wants to listen to some high quality Seventeen, but Jackson still has it and has most likely lost it by now. He mourns the loss of his phone. It was a good friend.

Jackson is gearing up for his turn and Jinyoung doesn't even think they are going in an order, just someone who has one is going. “Never have I ever…..uh, wait I forgot, no it’s back. Start over. Never have I ever betrayed anyone.” “Wait. What do you mean by betraying someone?” BamBam asks, licking his lips nervously.

Jackson seems to think about that for a moment. “If the other person considers it a betrayal, than it is.” Jinyoung doesn’t even think before he takes a marshmallow because he knows he’s the one who betrayed Mark, not the other way around. He’s the only one who takes it and Somin lets out a whistle. “Jinyoung of all people? I was expecting like Yugyeom, or JB, but not you.” JB and Yugyeom start talking at once, but Somin shuts off their speeches of unfairness with a death stare.

“Story!” Jackson barks and Jinyoung thinks that this is a trap made specifically for him. He thinks about how to word it, staring at the orange yellow embers sparking against the now inky black sky even though it has to be only six o’clock at the latest. Everyone is holding their breath, waiting, and he knows they think it’s going to be something like promising to hang out with one kid and then ditching them for better friends. It’s worse than that.

“Junior year, I was part of this group.” Jinyoung starts. “I mean, I was part of it for a long time, but it was junior year that was the most prominent part of life with them, for me.” Group means gang. “There was a student who came from overseas. He couldn’t speak Korean really well, but he was brave enough to ask to come along with my group and I.” Mirae and JB are silent, listening, and Jinyoung knows what they must be feeling. He hasn’t told them about this, and they’re his best friends, so this must count as  
some type of betrayal to them. 

“I let him join and we became better friends than I was with anyone else. It was okay to cry and all and I told him a lot of things.” BamBam interrupts. “Is this going to turn into some love story?” Jinyoung just stares at him and wills him to shut up because this isn’t about love and BamBam of all people should know that well enough. “No. Listen or I’m never going to finish it.” BamBam sticks out his tongue childishly. This whole group was way too immature. 

“Then this other kid transferred, from Thailand.” BamBam stops his quiet snickers from the other side of the bonfire and Jinyoung can tell how serious he gets. He sees Mark out of the corner of his eye, arms wrapped around him as he dries himself by the fire with Jackson. The flames flicker and Jinyoung focuses on the grains of sands beneath the toe of his sneaker as he continues on. 

“I didn’t like him very much. He was….” It’s difficult to explain. “He was like me, before I changed, and I didn’t like that. So I bullied him.” Jisu makes a small gasp sound, like she can’t imagine that Jinyoung would be so cruel, but nobody really knows him. They don’t know how he is, cold and cruel and violent. “It felt good at first, because I was destroying myself.” BamBam is running his thumb over Somin’s palm methodically and Jinyoung knows he hasn’t heard this part of the story yet. Jinyoung hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell him when they had talked that one night and resolved their conflicts. It had been too personal at the time.

Nobody’s interjected except BamBam and even Youngjae has been quiet so far, which is a real accomplishment. “But my friend didn’t like that and he started, how do I say it, helping this Thai transfer. I let it slip for a while, but then he did something and I was scared I was going to lose him, so I decided to just teach him a lesson.”

Jinyoung swallows, because the next part is difficult to tell. He’s different now, but just thinking about his friends hearing this and seeing him differently hurts him. He’s not a monster, but he was, and that’s what his friends are going to see when they look at him after this. “What did you do?” Mirae whispers, and she sounds scared almost, like she doesn’t want to hear what he says next.

“So I told the people in my group to go beat him up.” It’s one sentence, thirteen words, but it gets stuck in his throat as he says it. There’s a soft silence and the bonfire crackles. A cup crinkles as somebody squeezes it too hard. Mark has stopped fiddling with his sleeves and instead just stares down at them, squeezing the fabric. “And I made the Thai kid come and watch it with me.” Jinyoung adds and he sees BamBam grip Somin’s hand.

He’s not done yet. “Afterwards I hear that they dumped him in a river. I didn’t tell them to do that, but it was still my fault. That’s the end.” Jinyoung finishes and he stares hard at the sand as he slowly draws loops in it with his sneaker. He doesn’t think the others have figured out who he’s talking about, but they might’ve by now, given BamBam and Mark’s reactions and expressions.

Jackson hits him. Jinyoung isn’t expecting it and it throws him off balance. He grabs JB’s log to keep from spilling onto the sand and slowly pushes himself back up. Jackson grips his shoulder with an iron grip, jerking him so that Jinyoung has to meet his eyes. “I swear if you touch Mark again or even remotely hurt him I am going to rip you apart, you bastard.” Jackson mutters lowly in his ear, dark and dangerous for only Jinyoung to hear. He releases him sharply and Jinyoung shrinks down.

His cheek is burning and he’s been hit and called a bastard twice in the span of four days and for the same reason, almost. There’s quiet around the circle, except a soft murmur of figuring things out. Jinyoung makes eye contact with Mark as he pulls his hood up more to cover his face with shadow and Mark smiles at him. It’s a half smile of acknowledgement and acceptance of the apology Jinyoung doesn’t know that he’s done. Maybe admitting the truth was enough for Mark.

BamBam’s wrong about that story turning into a love story because Jinyoung was the only one who was in love. Not really in love, but still the kind of love that hurts after your heart breaks and makes you cry at night when you finally feel regret. Still the type of love that makes you clutch your aching chest and wonder why something that was meant to fix you hurt you far more instead.

Maybe it was Mark’s eyes across the river that hurt him so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be two more chapters after this...thoughts and feedback and kudos are much appreciated!


	18. Can't, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I wan't to say thanks to the guest I-don't-feel-like-signing-in (I know that's not exactly correct but I'm too lazy to check)(also I hope you sign in!)  
> Only one chapter (it's barely that) after this TT^TT  
> So this chapter might be a dream and soul crushing chapter depending on who you ship (hint hint)

After everything has calmed down from Jinyoung’s hidden confession, Mark finally raises his head with a never ever in mind. “Never have I ever kissed anyone.” He confesses, looking somewhat shy. It’s cute, admitting something like that, and it lightens the mood a lot. Almost everyone except a few people, ahem Jinyoung, take a marshmallow. They’re almost college freshman and it would be sad if they haven’t kissed anyone yet.

“Let’s go around the circle and say the person we kissed most recently.” Somin suggests brightly, because she’s really curious. “Then how about you start and we’ll go to Jisu after that and so on. By the way, you have to have initiated the kiss for it to count.” Jackson decides. 

“Well mine is obviously BamBam.” Somin says smugly, flipping her ponytail over behind her shoulder. Jisu ponders her answer for a second. “Mine would be technically Jackson even if it was an accident.” Somin gives her a reassuring nod because Jisu has told her about what happened at the party last night and that’s a pretty hard confession to take.

“At the prom I kissed some guy who danced with me.” Mirae shrugged like it was no big deal and Somin suppressed the urge to scream at her for not telling them. JB looks even more uncomfortable when he shares that Mirae was his first kiss. Jackson said that Jisu was his most recent kiss and they both blushed, but it was the sort of blushing that meant something had happened and it hadn’t turned out the way they had expected.

Youngjae told them about how he’d kissed a girl freshman year and joked about how that was the only kiss he was going to get. They skipped over Jinyoung and Mark because they hadn’t kissed anyone, and moved onto Yugyeom, who looked like he was dreading this moment.

“I, the person I most recently kissed,” Yugyeom looked down at his boots and Somin didn’t understand why he was so nervous. It was just a simple confession. “BamBam.” At first Somin wonders why he’s said BamBam’s name, but then the realization dawns on her and she puts the pieces together. Yugyeom looks miserable and Somin can only whisper; “When?” Her friends are as just as shocked as she is and Jisu is holding her arm, most likely to support her.

“At that party two weeks ago. We were drunk.” Yugyeom explains, and Somin waits because she knows there’s more, knows by the way BamBam isn’t looking her in the eye. “BamBam?” She prompts, trying to look at him. He sighs heavily. “Then, at the party last night, I kissed him.” Somin can’t believe it and all she can say is; “Oh my-you cheated on me?” It’s hard to say, because she’s never had to say that before, and her voice cracks.

She stands up, flinging Jisu off and feeling tears slipping down her cheeks again. “Somin, wait.” BamBam stands up also, but Somin is already leaving, tripping over the log. He tries to grab her arm, but she hits out blindly and feels her hand connect with something. BamBam lets go and stumbles back. She hopes she hit his face. He deserves it.

Somin ends up at a bus stop. She hasn’t even bothered to grab any of her things, they’re not important. Checking the bus schedule, she sees that the next one comes in a half an hour. She can wait for that time. Hopefully they don’t go looking for her and if they do, they don’t find her. She just needs to get away from them, disappear off the college because she’s most certainly not talking to BamBam about the kisses.

He kissed Yugyeom. She likes Yugyeom, he’s a good friend, one of her best friends, but BamBam is her boyfriend. Her boyfriend and he didn’t even tell her about an accidental kiss that happened two weeks ago. Two weeks. Actually, the party they had talked about had been more than two weeks ago now. More like two and a half weeks. 

Somin cries harder and she’s always thought that it’s pathetic to cry over a boy, but here she is on a bench at a bus stop with no idea where she’s going bawling her eyes out. She’s so caught up in crying that she doesn’t notice Youngjae sitting down beside her until he’s there, smiling under the brim of his hat that he never takes off.

“What do you want?” Somin asked around sniffles, trying to make her look presentable like she hadn't been crying for fifteen minutes straight. “I was looking for you.” Youngjae responds coolly. “I’m not going back.” Somin told him. “I didn’t say I was looking for you to bring you back.” Youngjae responds and Somin is at a loss for words. “Then why~?” She asked, leaving the question hanging in the air.

Youngjae shrugged. “I can’t just come and comfort you because I’m worried and you’re one of my friends?” Somin curled up on the bench, in a tight ball. “I guess you can.” Youngjae sighed. “Look, Somin, I get what it’s like to be heartbroken.” Somin laughed sharply. “You’ve only been kissed once.” Youngjae huffed indignantly, crossing his arms and adjusting his hat.

“I was in love with Jisu for a long time and it was painful to see her throw herself at Jackson and then watch them kiss behind them in the ferris wheel and then see her heartbroken and get that we’re not going to be more than friends.” Somin is surprised, to say the least. Youngjae has never shown that he’s been in love, or maybe she just hasn’t been watching closely enough.

Feeling like she should be the one comforting, Somin smiled at Youngjae and hoped she didn’t look like a wreck from crying. “There’s still a chance. JB and Mirae got together after all.” Youngjae smiled back, but he still looked sad inside. He might always be. “I’ll get over her eventually.” That seems a sad thing to say and think, and Somin feels like maybe she’ll get over BamBam when she’s eighty, but she can’t even picture that at almost eighteen.

“Are you gonna talk about it?” Youngjae finally asks after several minutes in silence. “I don’t want to, because I just feel really stupid you know? I was all smug when I said BamBam because I thought for sure he’s going to say the same thing and it’s humiliating to find out that you’re boyfriend and one of your best friends made out twice and you have to find out with the rest of your friends. Having a fight too, it was just so, so humiliating, and I feel really stupid and stuff right now.”

Youngjae nods. “You should think about how they feel.” Somin feels righteous anger well up. “I’m the victim here, why should I consider their feelings?” Youngjae is looking at her differently now, and Somin realizes how selfish that sounded. “Yugyeom’s been in love with BamBam for a long time. BamBam found out that his best friend is in love with him, but he’s dating you and he’s confused.”

“How do you know that?” Somin asks, looking at him curiously. Youngjae shrugs. “If you watch people long enough you’ll see beneath their layers.” The bus pulls up and opens its doors. “You getting on?” Youngjae asks. Somin stays in her seat.  
“Probably not.” She decides. The bus closes its doors and squeals away.

~

Mark is sitting on the front steps of the beach house when Jackson finally gets back. He gives a brief smile in greeting as Jackson sits down besides him. He’s still slightly damp Jackson notes. He should’ve been closer to the fire. “Where’d everyone end up?” Mark asks him and Jackson shrugs because he doesn’t really know.

“You didn’t tell me that you knew Jinyoung.” He says instead and he sees Mark stiffen slightly. He shouldn’t have brought it up, but he wonders how Mark dealt with that for so long. “He was ignoring me and honestly, I was terrified of him Jackson. What happened junior year, you didn’t live it. It’s so scary to be friends and then find yourself unable to breath in a river that’s shallow enough for you to stand and only be knee deep in, but at that moment it’s over your head and you’re too beaten to move. Then to wake up in a hospital still aching all over and learn that you’ve been in a coma for three months? It was so scary and when I met Jinyoung and even Bambam again all I could remember was that for a long time.”

“And now?” Jackson asks, because he still doesn’t know if Mark’s fully okay and it scares him, because Mark could be really hurt again and he doesn’t want to lose him again. “I think we’re okay now.” Mark answered, tipping his head back to look at the stars. “Are you okay?” He asks Jackson. 

Jackson pauses for a second and thinks. “I’m fine.” “But you weren’t, you were unconscious and you were bleeding but you weren’t breathing. I didn’t save you and instead I grabbed Jinyoung because he was the first person I saw, but what if the emergency people hadn’t been fast enough? You could’ve died.” Mark sounds close to breaking and Jackson tries to make a joke out of it.

“Well now you know how I felt. For three months.” He chuckles softly, but Mark doesn’t, so he lets the joke die out in the air. “We have more important matters to discuss. You haven’t been kissed yet? You’re eighteen and you lived in America! Girls had to have been fawning and falling all over you.” 

Mark rolls his eyes. “Maybe they were and I just didn’t like any of them.” “Why not?” Jackson asks. “None of them were my type.” “Am I your type?” Jackson teased, striking a pose. Mark raises an eyebrow. “Hmm. Maybe.” He winks and laughs after it, high and clear like gold. 

A thought comes to Jackson and he says it before he loses the courage. “If I kissed you right now, what would you do?” Mark tilts his head. “You’d have to kiss me to know the answer.” So Jackson does, reaching forward and closing the distance between them, making their lips connect.

When he pulls back Mark is flushed and grinning ear to ear and he whispers; “Well now that you have, what I would do would be to kiss you back.” He’s still grinning cutely and Jackson hardly gets what he says because Mark’s lips are really distracting and tasted like salt water, but when he does understand it, Mark is already moving forward to kiss him again.

~

The bonfire has died down enough that there are only burning embers snapping and crackling weakly in the cold night air. Yugyeom and BamBam are the only ones left at the bonfire and they haven’t spoken. Jisu and Youngjae had left immediately after the confession and Mirae and JB a few seconds later with Mark on their heels. Nobody had looked them in the eye except for Mirae and Jisu who had whispered a few harsh words of their own. Jackson had left soon after Mark and Jinyoung had left last, but not   
before whispering to Yugyeom to stay strong. Yugyeom found that strange. Jinyoung didn’t like him very much. 

“What are we going to do?” Yugyeom finally finds the courage to ask. BamBam and he are sitting rather close and BamBam looks up at him. “I don’t know. You kind of ruined everything didn’t you?” He half smiles, but in a cruel, cold mean way and Yugyeom doesn’t like it much. He doesn’t like how BamBam is warm and then cold the next moment, kissing him at night and ignoring him the next day.

“It was going to come out eventually and it’s better that we told her now instead of waiting too long, like two weeks.” Yugyeom tries. BamBam stares him down. “I told you to tell Somin after the kiss two weeks ago. It’s not my fault that you didn’t have the courage to.” He says the words to hurt Yugyeom and Yugyeom is just done.

He jumps up, fists clenched inside the sleeves of his dark purple sweater that’s always been overly big. “Can you stop already?” Yugyeom bursts out and BamBam jumps a little, surprised. “Stop this hot and cold. I was really worried for you after the crash and I couldn’t see you and I thought you might die and that we would have to leave things unresolved between us. Now I’m trying to talk to you and you’re twisting this into something else entirely.”

BamBam stands up too, crossing his arms and he’s skinny as a twig so it’s slightly funny. “Look, I’m not sure why I kissed you, but I’m dating Somin. She’s the one I have a life planned out with. Even if it’s been tough at the moment, she’s going to be the one I’m going to end up with. She has to be.” He sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself than Yugyeom, a tinge of panic and vulnerability in the words.

“If you’re trying to make me forget how I feel, I’ve already told you that I can’t do that.” Yugyeom responds and BamBam relaxes his stance the tiniest bit and there’s something akin to pity in his eyes. “I’m saying that you should forget about both kisses and stuff because maybe I have some sort of different than best friend feelings for you in me, but it’s never going to work out between us. Even if something is started it will go up in flames eventually and I’d rather be secure.”

Yugyeom is trying to process BamBam’s almost love confession to him along with his rejection. “You don’t get it. Something already started and it’s already burning. You can’t save us from this.” Yugyeom whispers, because it's the truth and it has been since kindergarten when the met. He remembered his mom saying to not get too attached to BamBam because he was going to hurt Yugyeom eventually, but he had always thought she had meant BamBam moving. How she knew about this, he’s not sure, but she   
was right all along.

BamBam turns and starts walking away. “You’re still leaving after all this?” Yugyeom calls after him, disbelieving. Bambam turns around. “I told you before, it will be better for both of us if we break this up. You were a good friend and I hope we stay acquaintances, but whatever happens we’ll never be what we were before three weeks ago.” 

He leaves and Yugyeom can’t even form a coherent reply to yell at his back. Instead he waits until BamBam is gone to let out a scream of frustration. He kicks the sand over the bonfire angrily and hopes that it goes out, but it doesn’t. He’s half sobbing now and sinks down into the sand. All he’s ever done is give everything to BamBam. 

He ran to BamBam when he was drunk and could barely walk, came to the police station when he was arrested. He stuck with BamBam when he became famous and wasn’t around as much and learned Thai for him and was there with a shoulder to cry on. Yugyeom was before Somin, he was the kid who shared his crayons, and the one who hid all of BamBam’s broken glasses and bruises from his mother and Somin in junior year without asking what happened even though he secretly swore to beat up anyone   
who had touched BamBam.

But what’s the point of giving your all to somebody who will never ever give it back?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides in a corner*  
> Don't kill me, please!


	19. Forever Young

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is such a bittersweet ending...warning: it could be unsatisfying.

Forever young,  
This moment that’s just ours  
Forever young you and I,   
Just as we are  
Forever young,  
Even if time passes by  
~Forever Young, GOT7

Their last night they go down to the beach with sparklers. The sun is setting and they hold as many as they can carry, lighting them from each other’s. Youngjae sticks his in the sand, making a row as they add on to it and let the golden sparks fizz out against the spreading colors of pink, orange, purple, and blue. 

Everybody had slept in for a long time that morning and eaten at their own times. The only remotely happy people had been Mark and Jackson and JB and Mirae. Youngjae had sat out on that bus stop bench with Somin until six o’clock in the morning when she had finally ventured back and fallen asleep. BamBam had sat outside her door for a while and Youngjae had watched him for a couple minutes, because the whole thing was sad. People were happy and then destroyed in a single second.

Yugyeom had been up early, sipping coffee and trying to hid his red rimmed eyes, but Youngjae didn’t miss much. Jinyoung had been sitting across from him with his earbuds and phone reclaimed from Jackson and Youngjae had almost stopped to talk to him, but decided that maybe it wasn’t the time. Jisu had been sleeping for a long time and he had caught a glimpse of JB and Mirae on the balcony as he had passed.

Jackson had caught his arm as Youngjae had left the house. “Why, whenever I try to fix things, it just ends up in a giant wreck?” He had asked. “Why are you asking me?” Youngjae had questioned. Jackson had just looked at him. Youngjae sighed. “You try, but you don’t know everything so you don’t know how it’s going to go.”

“Thanks Youngjae.” Jackson had left to eat breakfast and Youngjae had sat outside for a while and thought. Then they had gone to the beach and now they were here. Youngjae sits in the sand and sifts it through his bare toes. JB asks Mirae; “Hey, when we get back, do you want to go on a date?” 

Mirae says yes and JB kisses her through the sparks. Youngjae smiles to himself and waits until sometime later when Mirae stands up and points to a tall metal structure. “Anyone want to jump off and likely die?” She asks brightly and Youngjae doesn’t want to die, but he lets them pull him up.

It’s hard climbing and Youngjae is careful not to fall like Jisu does, well slips, and Youngjae’s head meets her foot many times, too many times for his comfort. When they reach the top it’s dark and and the sea is far below them. There are still sparklers on the beach letting off faint sparks far below and Youngjae’s glad he’s not scared of heights, even if it does make Jisu cling to him because he apparently has a squishy arm. 

He’s aware of how unstable the whole structure is, creaking as it sways in the wind. He’s rather near the edge and it makes him cling back on Jisu, even if he won’t admit that he’s clinging because he’s a guy.

“Anyone want to be brave enough to go first?” Somin asks, peering over the edge of her hands and knees. Jisu whimpers and says that she’s going to fall off and kill herself, but Somin just smiles and stands up. “Okay, I guess me.” She swan dives off, pushing   
BamBam off too and then it goes down like a chain, Yugyeom tripping because BamBam hits him and then Jackson and Mark jumping off together in cannonball form. Jinyoung and JB and Mirae all do it together and then it’s just Jisu and Youngjae and they fall   
off in a split second, crashing into the waves with their friends.

It’s cold and he thinks he might not surface, but finds himself being pulled up. Everyone’s screaming and laughing and shivering and clinging to each other’s wet bodies. Youngjae looks around at JB and Mirae laughing and repeatedly dunking a stubborn and grumpy Jinyoung. Youngjae hopes everything works out between Jinyoung and Mark, and he hopes Jinyoung heals his heart and Mark gets over his pain.

Jisu and Jackson are with each other again, but in the friend way don't worry, and Mark is with Jackson and they’re all smiling at each other. Youngjae doesn’t know if Mark and Jackson are going to end up together, but he really hopes they do because it’s nice to see people happy and smiling with each other. He also hopes that they don't take crap from anyone, and he knows they won’t because they’re some of the strongest people he knows.

Lastly, Somin, BamBam, and Yugyeom treading water. Somin and BamBam aren’t made up yet and Youngjae doesn't know if Yugyeom and BamBam are ever going to make up. He’s not sure what’s going to happen to that group, if BamBam’s going to become part of a boy group in the fall and leave them both behind or if Somin and BamBam are going to get married some day or if Yugyeom’s going to leave or fight back. But whatever happens they’ll be okay.

It’s all going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who stuck through this no matter how messy it got at times-this is my first finished and published fanfiction and I love and adore it and thank you to everyone who did the same.   
> Wahhhhh tysm TT^TT


End file.
